Bitcoin bandit's £5B bubble bursts as cops wrap seven-year chase

The Metropolitan Police's seven-year investigation into a record-setting fraudster has ended after she was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison on Tuesday. It follows Zhimin Qian pleading guilty to two charges in September, both related to criminal property, namely cryptocurrency. She faced one charge for …

[Craig 2]

I can't believe anyone could expect to criminally accumulate billions and then ever get to enjoy it without being caught.

She could have possibly stopped at a few million and got away with it and lived happily ever after but of course greed means that never actually happens...

[Bebu sa Ware]

I can't believe anyone could expect to criminally accumulate billions… to enjoy it…

"I can't believe anyone could expect to criminally accumulate billions and then ever get to enjoy it without being caught."

Arguably America's tech bros believe exactly that.

[elsergiovolador]

without being caught.

The key is to spend % to befriend politicians, donate to ruling party and create a business embedded in public sector.

If you don't share, then powers use police to put you in your place.

[phuzz]

For example

[JWLong]

For Sale

Get your's NOW!……

The U.S. Constitution.

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't work for SBF

Sam Bankman-Fried donated over $100M to politicians during the 2022 midterm elections. Doesn't seem to have helped him much. Obviously didn't donate to the right people.

Cite:

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/sam_bankman_fried_spared_a/

[IGotOut]

Re: Didn't work for SBF

@anon

Oh yes it did

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/sam-bankman-fried-pardoned-by-donald-trump-who-he-is-and-what-did-he-do/3920828/

[isdnip]

Re: Didn't work for SBF

That was a story that a fake story about a pardon went out, and he wanted a pardon, but he didn't get one. Apparently he gave too much money to Democrats.

But the British authorities caught a Chinese thief because she chose the wrong country to hide in. Had she hid in the US, then Trump would probably have welcomed her to Merde-a-Lardo.

[I ain't Spartacus]

The answer is Gary Busey's line from Under Siege. Tommy Lee Jones's character asks him what he's going to do with his share of the money and he says, "buy the Presidency!"

[thinks: Should I click the anon button?]

[dmesg]

Isn't that what empires and aristocracies have been doing for centuries?

[Jonathan Richards 1]

> Isn't that what empires and aristocracies have been doing for centuries?

In other reports it is stated that Qian was planning (as in, making diary entries for her strategy) to become the Queen of a microstate somewhere in Central Europe. This one? I haven't checked back with that other report, sorry.

[GBE]

I can't believe anyone could expect to criminally accumulate billions and then ever get to enjoy it without being caught.

You mean like Ruja Ignatova did?

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-50435014

And there are plenty of others...

[David Hicklin]

> You mean like Ruja Ignatova did?

It is strongly suggested that she never got the chance to spend any of it by being >6 feet under.

[Androgynous Cupboard]

What I really don't get is why London? Yes I know we're the fraud capital of the world, but we also have a functioning police force which is - relatively - uncorrupted.

Had she gone to Argentina, or UAE, or somewhere she could simply pay the cops off, she would not be in the news.

[theOtherJT]

Should have blown up a building...

"Steal $600 and you can just disappear, steal [$6 billion] and they will find you unless they think you're already dead!"

[DS999]

She stopped long before it was billions

She's been on the run since 2017.

[Bebu sa Ware]

Eleven year sentence ?

It would have been a lot shorter if she were repatriated to the PRC for trial… but then she would be a head shorter too.

[tmTM]

Re: Eleven year sentence ?

She's got that to look forward to next.

Entered the country on a fake passport, convicted and sentenced. Will be deported once prison time is up.

No, you can't claim UK asylum to escape extensive crimes committed in your home country

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Eleven year sentence ?

"No, you can't claim UK asylum to escape extensive crimes committed in your home country"

They won't deport foreign criminals unless the home country will guarantee that they won't apply the death penalty, or if the criminal manages to invoke some aspect of their human rights that would be infringed by deportation.

[ChrisElvidge]

Re: Eleven year sentence ?

China: We promise not to execute her.

Later: She fell out of the 10th floor window.

[David Hicklin]

Re: Eleven year sentence ?

> Later: She fell out of the 10th floor window.

But it’s only am 8 story building...

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Eleven year sentence ?

In the PRC, you'd more likely be shot or get a lethal injection for a death sentence. They don't really do beheadings. Although I think they are or are looking into, organ harvesting from executed prisoners.

[Pen-y-gors]

Criminal Assets?

So what happens to the £4.8 billion? Does the UK government keep it? Cash it in and give it to Water Company shareholders?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Criminal Assets?

It will of course go back to the People Republic of China, and put aside in the Party's coffers.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Criminal Assets?

I read somewhere that the Met was looking to reclaim costs off those. I wonder, just like when a company goes under and the insolvency practitioners take over, would the fees charged thereafter leave anything for the creditors/victims

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Criminal Assets?

There is a nice article on the BBC website (until Herr Trump 'kills' it off !!!)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg4w1g9ezko

There is an on-going process to try to get money back to the people that were scammed.

An money left goes to the Treasury as always !!!

:)

[FrogsAndChips]

Re: Criminal Assets?

If they refund victims to the initial value of their "investments", even inflation adjusted, that would still leave a nice amount for the Treasury (BTC was about USD 10k when the scam ran between 2014 and 2017, it's USD 100k now).

[xeroks]

Re: Criminal Assets?

looks like it was well under $1K at the beginning of 2017, so a hundred-fold increase. Give the victim twice their money back, and you've got plenty left over for an upgrade to the panda car.

[simonlb]

"Crypto Dream Scam Nightmare"

he was led to believe his £28,000 ($36,726) investment grew to £400,000 ($524,664) in six months, but was in fact stolen

This is why you should never gamble more than you afford to lose. Also, Crypto == Ponzi, so stay away.

[Strahd Ivarius]

If they want to go after fraudsters

When do they indict the US sitting president?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: If they want to go after fraudsters

Never.

Soon Herr Trump will have killed off the BBC and there will be no-one reporting globally on any fraud that MAY be connected to the Trump Dynasty.

The financial risk will be too high to report on Herr Trump at all !!!

Herr Trump will be perfect in every way, by his own mouth, and everyone will report this ... to keep on his good side !!!

The US media are already running scared of making any comments that herr Trump could dislike ... for the same reasons.

:)

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: When will Trump be indicted?

The current evidence is that a Republican president cannot be indicted while in office no matter how strong the evidence. Senior Republicans are promising Trump will be impeached for a third time if people vote Democrat. Impeachment from Congress means nothing unless the Senate follows through with a conviction so Democrats have to win both houses. To new congress will not be in session until 2027-01-03 so that is the earliest opportunity for things to get started.

[FrogsAndChips]

Re: When will Trump be indicted?

Even if the Dems win both Houses, they will still need a 2/3 majority in the Senate to convict Trump and have him removed from office. Never going to happen.

[John Brown (no body)]

targeting males under 45

Oh, if only I could remember so far back when I was only 45! Still, looking on the bright side, my crypto scam should most likely stay under the radar :-)

[Anonymous Coward]

"Crypto Dream Scam Nightmare"

Crypto = scam. Plain and simple.

The nightmare/dreams are just a bonus.

[MrGreen]

The UK government already owns 61,000 Bitcoins placing it 3rd in the list of countries who own Bitcoin, USA are first, China are second.

This should by put in to a sovereign wealth fund with this newly acquired Bitcoin.