A fraudster who dreamed of becoming a "Goddess" has plead guilty to money laundering offences after having over £5.5billion worth of Bitcoin seized by the authorities.
Zhimin Qian fled from China to Britain in 2017 after defrauding more than 128,000 investors and transferring the spoils into cryptocurrency.
When Qian pulled off the scam, she held £1.4billion worth of Bitcoin - but this has now almost quadrupled to £5.5billion.
The Chinese national's scam is the single biggest theft in history and represents the largest seizure of Bitcoin by any authority.
The Chinese national's scam is the single biggest theft in history
|METROPOLITAN POLICE
Police first stormed Qian’s £5 million rented six-bedroom home close to Hampstead Heath in October 2018.
After spending years on the run from the authorities, she was finally arrested in April last year.
Investigators did not uncover the stash of more than 61,000 Bitcoin in digital wallets until two-and-a-half-years later.
Qian, 47, was due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court but admitted the offences on day one, pleading guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property before April 23 2024.
Qian, 47, was due to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court but admitted the offences on day one
| GETTYThe Chinese national was remanded into custody and is set to be sentenced at a later date.
British police seized Qian's digital diary, where she noted her ambition of being hailed by the Dalai Lama as a "Reincarnated Goddess", according to the Financial Times.
Her bizarre diary went on to plot a kingdom she would build using the funds, known as "Liberland", which she would rule over, the newspaper reported.
The micronation was being planned to be established in a seven square kilometre area between Croatia and Serbia on the Danube River.
CRIME - READ THE LATEST:
- Benefits fraudster jailed after hijacking 68 identities and claiming £170,000 to fund gambling habit
- Rochdale groomers 'destroyed my life', victim tells court ahead of sentencing of seven men
- Police say 'white' man involved in church gang rape - but don't know ethnicity of other suspects
- Palestine Action protest in Liverpool sparks dozens of arrests with 66 activists detained by police
British police seized Qian's digital diary, where she noted her ambition of being hailed by the Dalai Lama as a 'Reincarnated Goddess'
|GETTY
Qian also wrote about erecting a Buddhist temple in the kingdom, as well as having a £5million crown and sceptre made for her.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is believed to have identified the seized funds a potential source of funding to help tackle the gap in public finances.
Qian's scam began when she launched a company called Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology in 2014, promising investors returns of around 300 per cent.
However, the Chinese national instead laundered the money into Bitcoin before fleeing the country.
Metropolitan Police's head of economic and cybercrime command Will Lyne said the successful conviction was down to "years of dedicated investigation".
He added: "This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally."
Roger Sahota, Qian's solicitor, said: "By pleading guilty today, Ms Zhang hopes to bring some comfort to investors who have waited since 2017 for compensation, and to reassure them that the significant rise in cryptocurrency values means there are more than sufficient funds available to repay their losses."
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter