Key Takeaways
- The UK Police have made the single largest BTC seizure in value, worth $7.2 billion.
- The seizure was part of a 2018 raid on a Chinese scam operator.
- The UK court convicted the Chinese national on Sept. 30.
The United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police has made what it describes as the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in history: 61,000 Bitcoin, currently valued at approximately $7.2 billion.
The seizure came from a seven-year-long investigation into a massive investment scam orchestrated by a Chinese national.
Chinese Woman Pleads Guilty
The seven-year investigation into the alleged online scam using cryptocurrency was successful when the UK court convicted a Chinese national, Zhimin Qian, of acquiring criminal property under the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act.
According to the BBC report, Qian ran a large-scale Ponzi-like fraud in China between 2014 and 2017. The scam targeted over 128,000 victims, primarily elderly individuals aged 50 to 75.
Victims were lured with promises of high returns on fake investments, resulting in billions in losses. Qian converted the stolen funds into Bitcoin for easy concealment and transfer, earning her the nickname “Bitcoin Queen”.
The scheme collapsed in 2017, forcing Qian to flee China using false documents and settle in the UK. She lived lavishly in a rented multi-million-pound mansion in Hampstead, north London, and attempted to launder proceeds by purchasing properties, including two Dubai villas worth over £500,000 ($650,000).
Qian came under the UK police radar in 2018 when UK Metro police officers raided Qian’s home and seized hardware devices containing wallets with 61,000 BTC. The raid was based on intelligence about suspicious cryptocurrency transfers.
The Chinese woman is currently under custody and awaiting sentencing after being convicted on Sept. 29.
Top Bitcoin Seizures in History
In collaboration with Chinese authorities, the Met’s Economic Crime Command hailed the conviction as the “culmination of years of dedicated investigation.
The UK police seizure of 61,000 BTC eclipses prior records by current market value and as a single-agency seizure.
The following list ranks the largest Bitcoin seizures by authorities based on the value at the time of the seizure. These seizures primarily stem from cybercrimes, hacks, and fraud schemes.
Ross Ulbricht Silk Road Wallets-144,336 BTC
U.S. FBI seized 144,336 BTC from the personal wallets of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht shortly after his 2013 arrest. The darknet market facilitated drug sales and money laundering using Bitcoin.
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to life; the government auctioned off the seized BTC.
Bitfinex Exchange Hack Laundering- 94,643 BTC
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized approximately 94,643 BTC stolen in a 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange, in which hackers stole 119,754 BTC (then worth $71 million).
Suspects Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan laundered the seized portion through over 2,000 unauthorized transactions and complex mixing techniques. This remains the most significant U.S. financial seizure at the time. However, the seizure occurred in batches, not all at once, thus the UK police seizure remains the single largest Bitcoin seizure in history.
James Zhong Silk Road Hack- 50,676 BTC
In 2021, the U.S. IRS Criminal Investigation and the DOJ seized 50,676 BTC from James Zhong after raiding his home in Georgia. In 2012, Zhong exploited a vulnerability in the Silk Road darknet market’s withdrawal system to steal ~50,000 BTC and ~3,500 BTC from a 2017 fork.
In 2022, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to one year in prison; additional assets, including real estate and cash, were also forfeited.
Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
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