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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] A Chinese woman has been convicted in the United Kingdom for leading one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency fraud cases, according to a report by the BBC on September 30 (local time).
Known by the alias “Yadi Zhang,” 47-year-old Chen Zimin pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in London on September 29 to charges of illegally acquiring and possessing cryptocurrency. The sentencing date has not yet been set.
The case drew global attention after it was revealed that authorities had seized 61,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately £5 billion (around KRW 9.4 trillion).
Chen is accused of orchestrating a massive fraud in China between 2014 and 2017, during which she defrauded approximately 128,000 victims, converting the illicit proceeds into cryptocurrency to conceal them. The BBC reported that this seizure represents the largest single cryptocurrency confiscation by authorities worldwide.
A Chinese media outlet previously reported that most victims were between 50 and 75 years old and had been lured into investing tens of thousands to millions of yuan (tens of millions to billions of KRW) by promises of guaranteed dividends and returns.
Chen was apprehended in the UK during a 2018 investigation by London police into international money laundering and criminal asset concealment. She allegedly entered the country with forged documents and attempted to launder illicit proceeds through property acquisitions.
Her accomplice, Yuan Jian (44), was sentenced last year to six years and eight months in prison. He had used fraudulent proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including renting a multi-million-pound apartment in London and purchasing two properties in Dubai. Authorities also seized approximately £300 million (around KRW 570 billion) worth of bitcoin from him.
알파경제 Kim Jisun (stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
