Moment ‘Cryptoqueen’ scammer with £5bn Bitcoin stash arrested in mattress | News | EUROtoday

A “Crypto queen” fraudster who masterminded a rip-off that led UK police to grab greater than £5.5bn in Bitcoin was arrested in mattress, police bodycam video exhibits.

Zhimin Qian, 47, of no mounted handle, defrauded greater than 128,000 victims in China via a Ponzi scheme earlier than fleeing to the UK as a world fugitive.

She saved the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin property and spent years evading UK police by travelling throughout Europe, staying in upmarket accommodations and residing a lifetime of “luxury”, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Qian’s confederate, Seng Hok Ling, 47, of Morningside Walk, Matlock, Derbyshire, was sentenced to 4 years and 11 months in jail after pleading responsible to transferring felony property over his position within the fraud.

When Qian and Ling have been convicted in September, the worth of the Bitcoin was greater than £5.5 billion, in response to police.

On Tuesday, 11 November, Qian was jailed for 11 years and eight months after admitting money-laundering offences and transferring and possessing felony property, particularly cryptocurrency.