Zhimin Qian, 45, pleaded guilty to what the Met Police believe to be one of the largest crypto scams in history on Monday.
Investigators believe Qian played a central role in scamming more than 128,000 victims between 2014 and 2017.
As part of the investigation, police seized 61,000 Bitcoin, worth more than £5billion as of 2025.
It is believed Qian committed the scams while living in China, but eventually fled to the UK using fake documents with the assistance of an assailant, Jian Wen.
Will Lyne, The Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said: “Today’s guilty plea marks the culmination of years of dedicated investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime teams and our partners. This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally. I am extremely proud of the team.
“Through a meticulous investigation and unprecedented cooperation with Chinese law enforcement, we were able to obtain compelling evidence of the criminal origins of the cryptoassets Qian attempted to launder in the UK.
“My thoughts are with the thousands of victims defrauded in this scheme, and I hope today’s outcome acknowledges the harm Qian inflicted and reinforces the Met’s unwavering commitment to justice.”
Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the Met’s investigation, added: “Today marks the result of years of painstaking work. When our team located Zhimin Qian, she had been evading justice for five years, and her arrest triggered a complex investigation requiring evidence from multiple jurisdictions and the careful review of thousands of documents.
“I am immensely proud of the investigation team and our partners who have worked tirelessly on this case.
“Today’s plea reflects years of hard work across both the UK and China. We are grateful for the support of the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service, and to Chinese law enforcement teams in Tianjin and Beijing with whom we have collaborated throughout.”
