Chinese woman sentenced to prison for illegal possession of 61,000 Bitcoin
In a massive operation, a Chinese woman defrauded people in her home country for years, then she fled. Now she has to go to prison.
(Image: interestingworks/Shutterstock.com)
In Great Britain, a 47-year-old woman from China has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison, who wanted to make a good life for herself in the country with illegally obtained 61,000 Bitcoin. An accomplice, also 47 years old, must serve four years and eleven months. This was reported by the Metropolitan Police in London, a month and a half after the woman pleaded guilty. In just four years, she had convinced almost 130,000 people in her home country to entrust her with their money, which she allegedly wanted to multiply through investments in cryptocurrency. Instead, she fled to Great Britain in 2017 with the cryptocurrency assets, where she spent them lavishly until law enforcement agencies became aware of her.
Large-scale operation in China
Details of the massive fraud became public at the end of September, when the woman pleaded guilty. The BBC has now compiled a series of sometimes hair-raising further information regarding the verdict of a London court, according to the BBC. The woman led an extensive operation in China, where people were convinced to contribute money through, among other things, huge events. Among those who advertised was Mao Zedong's son-in-law. Such an advertising event is said to have even taken place in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. However, these were carried out by subordinates; the boss herself was notoriously secretive and only showed herself to particularly generous donors.
(Image:Â Metropolitan Police)
The BBC has also gathered details about how the fraudster named Zhimin Qian dealt with the loot and her further plans for it. She lived on the outskirts of London's Hampstead Heath Park, paying £17,000 (approximately €19,300) per month in rent and presenting herself as an “heiress of antiques and diamonds.” According to her diary, she wanted to found an international bank, buy a Swedish castle, and get involved with a British duke. Above all, however, she wanted to become queen of the internationally unrecognized micronation of Liberland on the Danube between Croatia and Serbia. For this, she had set aside millions from her loot.
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Now that the woman has been sentenced to a long prison term, it is still unclear what will happen to the cryptocurrency assets. Their value has multiplied twentyfold thanks to Bitcoin's price gains since her escape, the BBC writes. It is said that the handling of the assets will be decided in a separate court proceeding scheduled for next year. Fraud victims from China are expected to participate in this, but it is questionable how they will be able to prove their claims. Most had not transferred the money directly to the company but to its representatives, who then passed it on. It is also unclear whether the victims will only receive the value of their money at the time or benefit from the appreciation. What is not returned will automatically fall to the British state.
(mho)
