Chinese woman pleads not guilty to British money laundering charges

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, has pleaded not guilty to Bitcoin laundering in a London court.

According to Bloomberg, Qian, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in April and charged with two counts of money laundering. British law enforcement alleges that Qian possessed and transferred illegal cryptocurrency before April 23 as part of a larger operation.

Zhimin Qian and Jian Wen

Authorities allege that Qian hired Jian Wen, who was sentenced to more than six years in prison for her role in the money laundering conspiracy. During a police raid in 2018, Wen was found to have 61,000 Bitcoin (BTC), now worth over 3 billion pounds ($4 billion), in her apartment.

Wen’s arrest reportedly led investigators to Qian, who has been dubbed the “crypto queen.” She is accused of defrauding 130,000 Chinese investors of $5.6 billion between 2014 and 2017. Despite these allegations, Qian denies any criminal behavior and plans to contest the allegations.

The trial is due to begin in September 2025 at Southwark Crown Court, where a co-defendant, Seng Hok Ling, also pleaded not guilty to related charges.