LONDON (Reuters) -A Chinese woman accused of laundering bitcoin which was linked to an alleged 5 billion-pound ($6.7 billion) fraud pleaded guilty in a London court on Monday. Qian Zhimin, who was also known as Zhang Yadi, appeared at Southwark Crown Court for the first day of her trial but decided to change her pleas. […]
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Chinese woman admits UK bitcoin laundering charges on first day of trial
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LONDON (Reuters) -A Chinese woman accused of laundering bitcoin which was linked to an alleged 5 billion-pound ($6.7 billion) fraud pleaded guilty in a London court on Monday.
Qian Zhimin, who was also known as Zhang Yadi, appeared at Southwark Crown Court for the first day of her trial but decided to change her pleas.
The 47-year-old admitted one count of possessing criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales remanded Qian in custody ahead of sentencing, which will take place at a later date.
Qian was arrested after an investigation in which British police seized wallets holding more than 61,000 bitcoin, currently worth 5.1 billion pounds – making it one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures by law enforcement worldwide.
Her lawyers said in a statement issued after her arrest last year that Qian denied “the allegations of fraud levelled against her in China”.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James)