UK Police Seize Nearly $1.8B of Bitcoin From Investment Fraud in China: FT

Police in the U.K. have seized 1.4 billion pounds ($1.78 billion) worth of bitcoin (BTC) from an investment fraud operation in China, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

A London court heard of the seizure Tuesday as part of the ongoing trial of Jian Wen, who is accused of laundering bitcoin on behalf of her former employer, Yadi Zhang, whose real name is Zhimin Qian.

U.K. police seized four devices in 2018 that contained more than 61,000 BTC, worth 1.4 billion pounds by the time they were all recovered in July 2021, FT reported.

Zhang stole roughly 5 billion pounds from more than 128,000 investors, which she then converted into bitcoin. She has since fled and is currently on the run, Southwark Crown Court in London heard.

Wen, who has pleaded not guilty, is on trial for knowingly helping to convert some of Zhang’s bitcoin into cash, property, jewelry, and other luxury items.

She also tried to buy a London property for 12.5 million pounds in 2018, but the law firm handling the purchase could not verify the bitcoin’s source.