October 2, 2025
Following a seven-year international investigation involving UK and Chinese law enforcement, Gillian Jones KC and Max Baines have concluded the prosecution of Zhimin Qian who has pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to possessing and transferring criminal property – cryptocurrency, bought using the proceeds of a huge investment fraud committed by her and others in China. The case led to the recovery of bitcoin assets valued at over £5 billion and is believed to represent the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history.
Between 2014 and 2017, Ms Qian defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China, converting the stolen funds into bitcoin and laundering them through UK property purchases. She entered the UK using false documents and evaded authorities for five years.
Ms Qian disappeared following the police executing a warrant at the house she was renting in Hampstead in 2018. She was eventually located and arrested in York in April 2024.
On 30 September 2025, co-defendant Seng Hok Ling also entered a guilty plea for his role in facilitating money laundering and is now subject to confiscation proceedings totalling more than £14.2 million.
Sentencing of Ms Qian and Mr Ling is scheduled for 10 and 11 November 2025.
Co-defendant Jian Wen also prosecuted by Gillian Jones KC and Max Baines, was convicted in 2024 and received a sentence of six years and eight months for laundering funds linked to Ms Qian.
Gillian Jones KC has a high-profile practice specialising in Financial & Business Crime, acting on behalf of individuals, corporate clients and the prosecution – many of her cases are well-known with a global reach: [Gillian Jones KC Profile]
Max Baines is a specialist in serious Fraud and has been instructed in some of the most complex and high-profile cases in recent years including LIBOR and Forex: [Max Baines Profile]
Gillian Jones KC and Max Baines were instructed in this case by the Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate of the CPS.
News stories:
[BBC News]
[IB Times]
[Sky News]
[Standard]
