The legendary life of Bitcoin rich woman Qian Zhimin

Nakamoto 2025-11-12 21:00 99039人围观 BTC

Bitcoin rich woman Qian Zhimin illegally raised 40.2 billion in domestic funds, used 34.1 billion in rebates, and bought the remaining 61,000 Bitcoins, which are currently worth nearly 7 billion US dollars! Finally, in April 2024, Qian Zhimin was arrested

Bitcoin rich woman Qian Zhimin illegally raised 40.2 billion in domestic funds, used 34.1 billion in rebates, and bought the remaining 61,000 bitcoins, which are currently worth nearly 7 billion US dollars! Finally, in April 2024, Qian Zhimin was arrested in bed at his London residence.

Qian Zhimin was born in Rugao, Jiangsu on September 4, 1978.

In 2013, Qian Zhimin was involved in a pyramid scheme case that occurred in Hefei, Anhui. At that time, Qian Zhimin used the pseudonym "Li Xia". There were many people involved in the case and huge funds were involved. After the case, some people were arrested and sentenced, but Qian Zhimin, as the trader, has been on the run.

In March 2014, Qian Zhimin founded Tianjin Blue Sky Gerui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., claiming to be engaged in blockchain and electronic technology projects.

In April 2014, Qian Zhimin and Zhao Linfeng met and became lovers.

In June 2014, Qian Zhimin changed the legal representative of the company to Ren Jiangtao, but Qian Zhimin still had actual control. Blue Sky Green did not have the qualifications of a banking financial institution.

In June 2014, Qian Zhimin opened a digital currency trading account in the name of Ren Jiangtao. When Bitcoin trading was still legal in China, he exchanged a large amount of Bitcoin on the encrypted Bitcoin platform.

From 2014 to 2017, Qian Zhimin used Tianjin Blue Sky Gerui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. as a platform to package projects such as "smart elderly care" and "Bitcoin mining". Through high interest rebates and the promise of 300% annualized income, he illegally accumulated more than 40 billion yuan, affecting 128,000 Chinese investors.

In July 2017, Blue Sky Grei stopped rebates on the grounds of financial system upgrades, and later issued an announcement stating that it was suspending business due to financial rectification. The Chinese police opened a case to investigate, and Qian Zhimin fled to the UK under the pseudonym "Zhang Yadi" with a forged St. Kitts and Nevis passport.

In September 2017, after Qian Zhimin arrived in the UK with a St. Kitts and Nevis passport named Zhang Yadi, she needed a local agent who could help her "launder" the 61,000 bitcoins in the computers and cash them in the UK. She posted a recruitment notice in a Chinese WeChat group and later hired a Chinese woman, Wen Jian, as an assistant. She paid Wen Jian a monthly salary of 4,000 pounds to be responsible for her daily life, act as a translator, and help her handle finances.

From the autumn of 2017 to the end of 2018, Wen Jian had been looking to purchase real estate for Qian Zhimin. It was not until the summer of 2018 that he planned to purchase two luxury homes in North London for 36 million pounds, which triggered an anti-money laundering review. Eventually, he was attracted to the British police because of his large real estate investment but the inability to explain the source of the Bitcoin for payment.

In October 2018, police raided their mansion. During that operation, the police seized Qian Zhimin's laptop and other digital devices, and froze the 61,000 bitcoins at that time. However, the British police did not immediately realize the value of these Bitcoins and did not arrest Qian Zhimin immediately. After the police raid, Qian Zhimin "disappeared".

In August 2018, Qian Zhimin planned to buy Liberland, a country on the west bank of the Danube that is not recognized by the international community, and obtained diplomatic immunity after becoming the head of state.

In April 2024, the British police captured Qian Zhimin on the bed of a residence in Yorkshire by tracking the flow of cryptocurrency, and found the encryption wallet key at the scene. He appeared in court for the first time on April 24 and was accused of illegal possession of cryptocurrency. Since then, his real name has been officially known to the outside world.

On September 29, 2025, Qian Zhimin pleaded guilty to "possessing property obtained by crime" and "transferring property obtained by crime" at the Southwark Criminal Court in London. The market value of Bitcoin involved reached 48 billion yuan. The trial of the case involved Sino-British judicial cooperation and remote testimony procedures for Chinese victims.

On November 11, 2025, the judge stated that his "motivation was purely greed and he was the mastermind of the entire crime." Qian Zhimin, the mastermind of the Tianjin Blue Sky Grete illegal fund-raising case and the largest Bitcoin money laundering case in British history, was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison in the UK.

The case of Blue Sky Gerui illegally absorbing public deposits founded by Qian Zhimin involved more than 128,000 investors and amounted to 40.2 billion yuan. Most of the more than 120,000 domestic investors are middle-aged and elderly people. Some of them have broken up their families due to property losses and have no money for medical treatment due to illness. British courts have initiated civil compensation procedures, but victims need to provide evidence of direct transfers, making recovery difficult.

After Qian Zhimin was arrested, the cryptocurrency worth more than 5 billion pounds was controlled by the British Crown Prosecution Service. The British Treasury, which is facing a fiscal gap of 30 billion pounds, has "eyes on" the money, and some officials have privately asked whether it can be used to "plug" the budget hole.

Under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act, if seized criminal assets end up unclaimed or failed to be claimed, the money can be forfeited. As usual, half will go to the British police and the other half to the British Home Office. The Chief Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service announced that they are "setting up a compensation scheme" to compensate victims in China.

When the scam was exposed in 2017, one Bitcoin was worth about £750, but now it has risen to more than £83,000. If victims can only get their principal back, the huge profits from Bitcoin's surge will remain in the hands of the British government.