Chinese citizens were convicted of her role in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme after British law enforcement confiscated £5.5 billion (approximately $73.9 billion) during the raid of her London home.
The cryptocurrency attack, worth 61,000 bitcoins, is considered the world’s biggest effort, metropolitan police said.
Zhimin Qian, 47, aka Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty to a crime (i.e. cryptocurrency) related to the acquisition and possession of criminal property at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. She is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
Met police said the attack was the result of an investigation released in 2018 after receiving a tip-off on the transfer of criminal assets, accusing Zhang of adjusting a massive fraud in China between 2014 and 2017, which fraudulent over 128,000 victims. According to Sky News, Zhang was arrested in April 2024.
The scheme essentially duping victims between the ages of 50 and 75, investing the funds with a false promise of daily dividends and guaranteed profits, after which the revenue is converted to Bitcoin.
“She then escaped from China using false documents and entered the UK. In September 2018, with the support of attacker Jian Wen, she tried to wash her revenues through the purchased property,” the agency said.
Wen was also jailed for eight months last May for eight years, which encouraged the movement of cryptocurrency wallets, including 150 Bitcoin, and was subsequently valued at £1.7 million ($2.28 million). Earlier this January, Wen was ordered to pay more than 3.1 million pounds ($4.16 million) or face extra time in prison.
Operation Contender 3.0 targets romance fraud and sexual molecules in 14 African countries
Authorities from 14 African countries have arrested 260 suspects and said they will seize 1,235 electronic devices and tackle cyber-responsive crimes as part of a coordinated international operation called Contanternated Contender 3.0, which took place between July 28th and August 11th, 2025.
Countries that participated in the activities include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
“The crackdown targeted cross-border criminal networks that utilize digital platforms, particularly social media, to manipulate and financially fraudulent victims,” he said. “Specifically, the manipulation focuses on romance scams, with perpetrators building online relationships to extract money from victims, and victims are blackmailed with explicit images and videos.”
The illegal activity claimed 1,463 casualties, resulting in a loss of $2.8 million. The arrests took place in Ghana, Senegal, Cote devoir and Angola. The suspects were found to use fake profiles, forged identities and stolen images to deceive victims, elicit fraud and sometimes trick individuals into sharing intimate images.
The arrests, USB drives, SIM cards and forged documents used by suspects to assist in criminal activity were seized by officials. Also, 81 cybercrime infrastructures have been dismantled across the continent.
Group-IB said it was one of the private sector entities that support operations along with Trend Micro, providing intelligence regarding the perpetrators who interacted with and interacted with victims of romance fraud and digital sextortion. He also said that these offenders shared details about the payment data they used in their attempts at Frightor.
“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digitally-enabled crimes such as Sexttortortortor and Romance Scams,” says Cyril Gout, executive director of Interpol’s police services. “The growth of online platforms has opened up new opportunities for criminal networks to leverage victims, causing both economic losses and psychological harm.”
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