- Do you have a story?
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you → have → story
A fixer for a Chinese fraudster behind a £5.5billion Bitcoin scam has handed over £5.6million to the British Government – as it continues to tussle with China over his boss's vastly larger fortune.
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it → hand → fortune
Hok Seng Ling, 48, was ordered to surrender the money after admitting his role in the biggest money laundering scam in UK history.
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Ling → order → history
He served as a 'butler' to Zhimin Qian, who masterminded a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 128,000 Chinese investors between 2014 and 2017 before funnelling the proceeds into Bitcoin and fleeing to the UK.
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that → serve → UK
Ling, a Malaysian national living in Matlock, Derbyshire, helped the 'Bitcoin Queen' launder her ill-gotten gains and evade British police by booking Airbnbs and arranging helpers.
After admitting money laundering offences, he was jailed for four years and 11 months at Southwark Crown Court in November.
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he → live → November
A judge later made a confiscation order for £5,603,305, with most of the sum made up of cryptocurrency seized when Ling was arrested.
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Ling → make → cryptocurrency
A freedom of information request by the Mail to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shows the full sum has now been recovered, along with a further £1,990 in interest.
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sum → show → interest
It comes amid a high-stakes legal battle over the fate of 61,000 Bitcoin seized by the Met during its investigation into Qian.
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It → come → Qian
The haul has since soared in value to £3.8billion as the price of Bitcoin has climbed.
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price → soar → Bitcoin
Lawyers representing the Chinese victims of the scam are now fighting in the English courts to stop the Treasury from keeping the gains on the cryptocurrency, which is currently held in UK Government accounts.
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which → represent → accounts
Hok Seng Ling, 48, was forced to pay back £5.6million after admitting his role in the biggest money laundering scam in UK history
He served as a 'butler' to fraudster Qian Zhimin, who hid in Britain for more than six years after swindling 128,000 investors in a wealth management Ponzi scheme in China
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who → force → China
Central to the dispute is whether English or Chinese law should govern the scam victims' claims.
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law → govern → claims
English law is generally seen as more favourable to victims because it may allow them to argue that all of the seized Bitcoin rightfully belongs to them, rather than limiting their claim to the amount they originally invested.
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they → see → amount
Last week, Mr Justice Sir Mark Turner ruled that Chinese law should govern their claims, increasing the likelihood that the British state could retain a substantial share of the Bitcoin's increase in value.
Backing arguments made by lawyers for the CPS, the judge said: 'The relevant damage occurred in China.
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damage → rule → China
The applicants parted with their money in China.
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applicants → part → China
The alleged fraudulent representations were made in China.'
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representations → make → China
He added: 'The contractual relationships thereby induced were entered into in China.
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relationships → add → China
The immediate economic consequences of the alleged wrongdoing were likewise suffered in China.'
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consequences → allege → China
While the judge insisted his ruling was not about who will ultimately own the Bitcoin, it makes it harder for victims to claim it.
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victims → insist → it
The investors will now have to show they have legal ownership rights over the Bitcoin under Chinese law.
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they → have → law
The English court must then decide whether those rights are strong enough under English law for the assets to be returned to them.
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assets → decide → them
Under UK proceeds of crime laws, victims can stop the government keeping seized criminal assets only if they can show they legally belong to them.
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they → stop → them
If the investors fail to prove their ownership of the Bitcoin under Chinese law, much of it could remain with the UK state.
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much → fail → state
The CPS has previously said victims can instead be compensated through a scheme run in China.
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victims → say → China
Qian rented this £17,300-a-month property in Hampstead, London alongside accomplice Jian Wen - where she was later traced by police
Piles of cash discovered during police searches connected to Wen
The case will not be transferred to China.
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case → rent → China
Instead, unless the ruling is overturned on appeal, the High Court in London will hear evidence from legal experts on Chinese law before deciding who should own the Bitcoin.
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who → overturn → Bitcoin
The CPS said in a statement: 'There will be a further hearing to determine the application of the law and if any of the victims are able to establish an interest in the bitcoin.'
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any → say → bitcoin
After carrying out the fraud, Qian entered the UK using false documents in 2017.
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Qian → carry → 2017
She then attempted to launder the proceeds by purchasing property, with the assistance of associate Jian Wen.
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She → attempt → Wen
She first came to police attention in 2018, when police seized 61,000 Bitcoin from Wen's £5million mansion in Hampstead, which she moved into within weeks of arriving in the UK as a takeaway worker with just £5,000 to her name.
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she → come → name
The Met did not realise the devices they had seized contained Bitcoin until 2021, by which point Qian had vanished.
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Qian → realise → 2021
It is thought to be the largest law-enforcement Bitcoin seizure ever.
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It → think → ?
She was not charged until April 2024 after she was arrested in York.
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she → charge → York
Qian emerged from relative obscurity to run a Chinese company called Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, launched in March 2014.
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Qian → emerge → March
The firm sold investment products with promised returns of up to 300 per cent.
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firm → sell → cent
In reality, she was simply funnelling her investors' money into Bitcoin for her own enrichment.
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she → funnel → enrichment
Jian Wen, another accomplice, is pictured in a trip to Germany.
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Wen → picture → Germany
Zhimin Qian would travel with her on holidays in order to evade the authorities
Qian, who called herself the 'Goddess of Wealth', hoped that her vast Bitcoin fortune would provide a gateway to Britain's Royal Family.
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fortune → travel → Family
From her rented manor house in Hampstead, Qian formulated plans to snap up a portfolio of million-pound mansions in the UK so she could meet dukes and duchesses, the Dalai Lama and the Pope.
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she → rent → dukes
In a diary, she wrote of her ambitions to rule a kingdom in Liberland, an unrecognised micronation on the Danube, where she hoped to build the biggest Buddhist temple in Europe.
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she → write → Europe
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
