Bitcoin crime: Chinese woman pleads not guilty to UK laundering charges

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, has pleaded not guilty to laundering Bitcoin in a London court.

According to Bloomberg, Qian, a Chinese national, was arrested in April and charged with two counts of money laundering. The UK’s Criminal Prosecution Service alleges that before April 23, Qian possessed and transferred illegal cryptocurrency as part of a larger operation.

Zhimin Qian and Jian Wen

Authorities claim Qian enlisted Jian Wen, who has been sentenced to over six years in prison for her involvement in the money laundering plot. Wen was found to have 61,000 Bitcoin (BTC), now valued at over £3 billion ($4 billion), at her residence during a police raid in 2018.

Wen’s arrest reportedly led investigators to Qian, who has been dubbed the “Crypto Queen.” She is accused of defrauding 130,000 Chinese investors of $5.6 billion between 2014 and 2017. Despite these allegations, Qian denies all criminal conduct and plans to contest the charges.

The trial is set to begin in September 2025 at Southwark Crown Court, where a co-defendant, Seng Hok Ling, has also pleaded not guilty to related charges.