Victim: Bitcoin goddess Qian Zhimin uses patriotic rhetoric of making "China the world's number one" to lure investors into the trap.

In a residential house in London, the police finally arrested Qian Zhimin (nickname Huahua), a Chinese woman who had been on the run for many years. Huahua was sleeping soundly in bed, unaware that the British police had already gathered evidence of her crimes. Qian Zhimin is the mastermind behind the largest crypto assets crime case in British history, involving fraud of up to 61,000 Bitcoins, which had a market capitalization of nearly 2 billion pounds at the time and has now soared to over 5 billion.

The investor, known as the “Crypto Assets Queen” and “China's Goddess of Wealth,” Qian Zhimin, has finally admitted to committing money laundering after years of fleeing. The BBC interviewed victims to expose this century-long Bitcoin scam that spans both China and the UK. It is not only an international money laundering fraud storm but also despicable that Qian Zhimin manipulated national sentiments, using the slogan “Make China Number One” as a psychological tactic, causing severe losses to hundreds of thousands of middle-aged and elderly people and leaving patriotic Chinese people in a difficult situation.

Ironically, after Qian Zhimin was arrested in the UK, she once denied all charges. She argued that she left her homeland because China began cracking down on the Crypto Assets industry in 2017, and that she was no longer a patriotic entrepreneur, but rather a victim transformed by the development of blockchain startups.

The Illusion of “Patriotic Investment”

The story begins in Tianjin in 2014. Qian Zhiming established an investment company named “Blue Sky Ge Rui”, claiming that investments in technology and blockchain could bring “three generations of wealth” and “revolutionary wealth growth”. She sold a dream that combined “technological innovation” and “national glory” to middle-aged and elderly people across China through promotional videos, hotel banquets, and luxurious launch events. The company publicly claimed that investors' funds would be used for Bitcoin mining and new coin generation projects. Investor “Mr. Yu” recalled that he received about ten pounds in “returns” daily, and the seemingly stable returns made people more convinced. Mr. Yu stated that at that time he even borrowed money to increase his investment, ultimately investing one hundred thousand pounds. He said that the patriotic dream promoted by Qian Zhiming was so grand that it made the victims lose their critical thinking ability.

Blue Sky Ge Rui has established a layered bonus system, where bonuses can be earned simply by introducing new investors. This “multi-level marketing” Ponzi scheme model quickly spread throughout China, ultimately attracting over 128,000 investors, with promotional emphasis on: investing in Blue Sky Ge Rui is helping China become the world's number one. Mr. Yu helplessly expressed that his love for the motherland became a weakness; they exploited this point, striking at the Achilles' heel ( The Heel of Achilles, meaning the vulnerable spot ).

The “Bitcoin Goddess” who fled to London

In mid-2017, Chinese police began investigating Lantian Ge Rui, leading to a break in the funding chain, with over 100 million pounds disappearing and Qian Zhiming also going missing. She used a fake passport to flee to the UK under the name “Zhang Yadi,” transforming into a mysterious wealthy woman claiming to be a “East Asian jewelry and antique businesswoman.” She rented a luxury house in Hampstead, a prime area of London, with a monthly rent of 17,000 pounds.

To throw off suspicion, she hired an assistant, Ms. Wen, and strictly demanded “no photography, no recording, and no use of the home Wi-Fi.” Ms. Wen later realized that her employer was not as simple as she seemed, but rather a fugitive carrying a huge amount of Bitcoin.

Money attempted to pay for a mansion worth £11.5 million with Bitcoin, but could not explain the source of the funds, leading the lawyer to report to the police. At the end of 2018, London police raided the mansion and found piles of cash and Bitcoin wallets in a messy room. She was arrested on the spot but soon went missing.

From Bitcoin Queen to Fugitive Prisoner

The police spent three years tracking the flow of funds, and finally unlocked her encryption wallet in 2021, seizing 61,000 Bits, setting a record for the largest crypto assets seizure in UK history. In 2024, she was arrested again in a rental property in the suburbs of York. The investigating officer recalled that she looked weak and walked hunched over, but surveillance footage showed she was actually agile, it was all an act.

In response to the accusations, Qian claimed that she was forced to flee due to China's crackdown on encryption entrepreneurs, but ultimately admitted to the charge of money laundering. In her dream journal, she even detailed her plans to become the “Queen of Liberland”, which is an unrecognized microstate located on the border between Croatia and Serbia.

How should the 5 billion pounds of illicit gains be compensated to the victims?

London police and the Crown Prosecution Service are currently handling this Bitcoin worth over £5 billion, trying to clarify legal ownership. Due to most Chinese victims' difficulty in providing concrete evidence, the claims process is complicated. The UK government is considering establishing an unprecedented “International Crypto Assets Fraud Victims Compensation Fund.”

However, even if the principal is successfully recovered, whether investors have the right to obtain the appreciation portion after the surge of Bitcoin remains a legal dilemma. Mr. Yu told the BBC that he only hopes to get back a little, as this money symbolizes hope for the victims. Currently, there are still some funds that have not been recovered. The police pointed out that a note from Qian Zhiming mentioned a “lost wallet” containing over 20,000 Bitcoins, with a market capitalization of about 1.5 billion pounds, which has still not been utilized.

This article victims: Bitcoin goddess Qian Zhimin uses patriotic rhetoric of “making China the number one in the world” to lure investors into the trap, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.