Original Article Title: "How Chinese takeaway worker led police to Bitcoin worth £3bn in Britain's biggest ever cryptocurrency seizure"

Original Article Author: Henry Vaughan

Original Article Translation: Sleepy.txt, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: Recently, with the ringleader Zhimin Qian (also known as Yadi Zhang) pleading guilty in a London court, a scam involving over 61,000 bitcoins, with a value of up to £5.5 billion, has reached a crucial point. It is the largest cryptocurrency case in the UK to date, and an ordinary Chinese delivery worker in London has been caught up in a massive money laundering network spanning China and the UK.

The beginning of the story is dramatic. Jian Wen, a single mother living a humble life in London, met the mysterious female tycoon Zhimin Qian through a butler recruitment ad on WeChat. Soon, her life was completely transformed, moving from a dormitory above a takeaway shop to a £17,000 per month mansion in Hampstead, driving a Mercedes, buying luxury goods, and traveling the world. What seemed like a rags-to-riches story on the surface was actually a tale of a deep criminal abyss.

The origin of this huge sum of money can be traced back to 2014 to 2017. During those years, Zhimin Qian orchestrated a large-scale investment scam in China, siphoning funds from over 128,000 investors, the majority of whom were elderly. She then converted this money into bitcoin and fled to the UK with the digital assets. Jian Wen's role was to be her agent in London, responsible for laundering this dirty money.

Their money laundering method was simple yet audacious, buying jewelry, luxury watches, sports cars, and even setting their sights on top London properties, including a £23.5 million seven-bedroom mansion. This level of spending, juxtaposed with Jian Wen's declared income (less than £6,000 a year), created a glaring contrast that triggered the UK's anti-money laundering alert, exposing the entire criminal network.

Will Lyne, head of the Metropolitan Police's Economic and Cybercrime Command, said this was one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and one of the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally. He explained that through meticulous investigation and unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, the police gathered enough evidence to confirm that Qian was attempting to launder criminally-derived cryptocurrency in the UK.

This case took seven years to crack and was an internationally coordinated pursuit. It revealed how cryptocurrency was used to transfer and conceal illegal proceeds, reflecting the complexity of modern financial crimes. The London Metropolitan Police worked closely with law enforcement teams in Tianjin and Beijing, China, ultimately bringing the mastermind to justice.

Jian Wen was convicted of money laundering in May 2024 and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. She has consistently argued that she was deceived and manipulated. Now, with the main perpetrator Zhimin Qian pleading guilty, the final link in this criminal chain has also been established, awaiting legal judgment.

Below is an in-depth investigative report written in 2024, documenting the ins and outs of the largest cryptocurrency money laundering case in British history.

In September 2017, shortly after Yadi Zhang arrived in London, Jian Wen resigned from her job at a Chinese takeout restaurant, moved out of the staff dormitory, and moved into a £5 million six-bedroom mansion near Hampstead Heath.

The two women claimed to be running an international jewelry business, engaging in diamond and antique trades in Japan, Thailand, and China. They traveled the world, spending tens of thousands of pounds at Harrods on designer clothing and shoes.

In this new life, Wen purchased a £25,000 Mercedes E-Class sedan and enrolled her son in a £6,000-per-term Hethersett Preparatory School.

But when she tried to buy some of the most expensive properties in London, alarm bells rang. These properties included a £23.5 million seven-bedroom mansion with a swimming pool and a £12.5 million villa with a theater and gym.

However, Wen's declared income for the 2016/17 financial year was only £5,979 and could not at all account for the Bitcoin used to pay for the properties. On October 31, 2018, the police conducted their first raid on the duo's residences.

Jian Wen on trial at Southwark Crown Court. Image source: CPS

It wasn't until two and a half years later that investigators realized they had actually completed the largest cryptocurrency seizure in British history, finding over 61,000 Bitcoins in a digital wallet.

At the time, these bitcoins were worth around £1.4 billion, and by March 2024, their market value had exceeded £3 billion. The 23,308 bitcoins associated with the case are still in circulation, now valued at over £1 billion.

£5 Billion Investment Fraud Case

Court testimony revealed that these bitcoins were linked to a £5 billion investment scam orchestrated by 45-year-old Zhang in China. Between 2014 and 2017, she defrauded nearly 130,000 investors through a false wealth program, then entered the UK with a forged St. Kitts and Nevis passport.

Wen was not charged in connection with the fraud itself. Zhang, whose real name is Zhimin Qian, has since fled the UK and her whereabouts are unknown.

42-year-old Wen was convicted of one count of money laundering between October 2017 and January 2022. The jury at Southwark Crown Court failed to reach a unanimous decision on two similar charges during the trial. The prosecution stated they would not seek a retrial, and Wen is set to be sentenced on May 10.

They rented a £17,000 per month house in Hampstead. Image Source: CPS

In last year's trial, Wen was acquitted of 10 additional money laundering charges that were not publicly reported. This was due to concerns that disclosing the figures could attract hackers targeting companies holding confiscated cryptocurrency.

As a Category A prisoner, Wen, petite with large round glasses, was brought to the witness box in handcuffs. Two court officers stood at the door as she testified.

She shared her background with the jury: born into a working-class family in China, she later met her husband Marcus Barraclough and came to the UK in 2007 on a spouse visa when she was pregnant.

Wen visiting the Lindt chocolate shop in Switzerland. Image Source: Metropolitan Police

Wen's Lifestyle Transformation

After her son was born, the marriage fell apart, and Wen lived a modest life in Leeds, where she obtained a law degree and a Bachelor's degree in economics. In the summer of 2017, she moved to London.

At that time, she had already opened a cryptocurrency account and was making detailed notes in a notebook featuring cartoon characters. But she claimed she had "absolutely no idea" she would soon be involved in such a massive Bitcoin transaction.

While working at a Chinese takeout restaurant in Abbey Wood, southeast London, she had applied for dozens of jobs and was living in a room below the restaurant. It wasn't until she saw a butler recruitment ad on WeChat that she first met Zhang at the five-star Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. She later described this job in her resume as "live-in personal assistant for a high-net-worth individual."

Shortly after, the two paid a £40,000 deposit and six months' rent in advance and moved into a £17,000 per month house in Hampstead. Wen then traveled to Thailand and Dubai, and the two frequently visited various European countries. Zhang used aliases such as "Rose," "Emma," and "Hua Hua" to deliberately avoid countries with extradition agreements with China.

Wen attempting to purchase the Hampstead property. Image source: Metropolitan Police

Hampstead Mansion and Tuscany Villa

They converted Bitcoin into cash to buy high-end jewelry. Receipts showed that at Christopher Walser Vintage Diamonds in Zurich, they spent £25,600 and £18,750; while at Van Cleef & Arpels in Switzerland, they bought two watches priced at approximately £49,300 and £69,900.

Within three months at the end of 2017, expenses on Wen's membership card at Harrods exceeded £90,000, covering women's clothing, jewelry, and footwear. She argued in court, "I was just holding the bags."

Wen also bought two apartments in Dubai for over £500,000 and briefly considered purchasing an 18th-century villa in Tuscany with a sea view worth £10 million.

Wen traveling in Germany. Image source: Metropolitan Police

Bundles of cash found during a police raid. Image source: CPS

Their attempt to purchase a property in London triggered an anti-money laundering investigation. Due to being unable to explain the source of the Bitcoin, the multi-million pound transaction fell through.

Wen initially claimed that the cryptocurrency came from mining, but later changed her story to being a "gift of love." She even drafted a gift agreement stating that Zhang had given her 3,000 Bitcoins, valued at approximately £15 million at the time.

The prosecution believes that Wen actually acted as an agent to help conceal the source of the stolen funds, which were converted into cryptocurrency to be moved out of China.

Leading counsel Gillian Jones pointed out in court that when Zhang arrived in London, she needed to cash out the Bitcoin or convert it into "property, jewelry, or other high-value items."

Wen admitted to being involved in part of the Bitcoin arrangement but insisted that she did not know the assets were derived from criminal activity. She emphasized that she was deceived by her "boss": "We were very close... But looking back now, I was severely taken advantage of. I don't know where she is."

Police state that they are still actively pursuing Zhang.

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