Zhimin Qian Pleads Guilty in the 61,000-Bitcoin UK Laundering Case
Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to acquiring and possessing criminal property in a case that led British police to seize about 61,000 BTC. The plea created a distinct legal stage in one of the largest Bitcoin-linked asset-seizure cases ever pursued by law enforcement.
On September 29, 2025, Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London to acquiring and possessing criminal property. The Metropolitan Police said their investigation had resulted in the seizure of approximately 61,000 BTC, which the force described at the time as the world's largest single cryptocurrency seizure.
The case originated in a large investment fraud carried out in China between 2014 and 2017. British police said Qian converted proceeds into Bitcoin, fled China using false documents, and later attempted to launder wealth in the United Kingdom. A long-running Metropolitan Police investigation eventually traced Qian and associated assets, including encrypted devices, cash, gold, and cryptocurrency. Her September plea resolved a major procedural stage while questions about sentencing and recovery of the seized Bitcoin remained for later proceedings.
The event is significant to Bitcoin history because of the extraordinary quantity of Bitcoin held by law enforcement and the legal questions that such seizures create over ownership, restitution, and government custody of digital assets. It also demonstrates how Bitcoin accumulated through an earlier fraud could become the central asset in a multiyear, cross-border criminal-property case. The correct plea date is September 29, not September 30; September 30 was the date on which a separate defendant, Seng Hok Ling, entered his plea.