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0Erinome: Hello everyone! Welcome back to our podcast. Today, Enceladus and I will talk about a big news story from the UK. It’s about a Bitcoin money laundering case.
Enceladus: Oh right! I heard about this. A Chinese woman was caught, right? What’s her name again?
Erinome: Her name is Qian Zhimin, 47 years old. People called her the “Bitcoin Queen” in the UK. She was just sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison.
Enceladus: Wow! That’s a long time in jail. What did she do exactly?
Erinome: She did非法集资 (illegal fundraising) in China first. Then she took the money to buy 61,000 Bitcoins. Then she ran away to the UK.
Enceladus: Oh no! How much is 61k Bitcoins worth? That sounds like a lot.
Erinome: Yes! About 43 billion yuan. Over 128,000 people were cheated. Can you believe that?
Enceladus: 128,000 victims? That’s so sad for them. How did she get caught?
Erinome: She was careful, but in 2088, she tried to buy a very expensive house in London with Bitcoin. The UK police thought the money was strange, so they checked. Then they found her.
Enceladus: Oh right! The house was worth like 23 million pounds? That’s crazy for a house.
Erinome: Exactly! And after she got to the UK, she lived a very luxury life—buying expensive jewelry, two watches for 1 million pounds at once, traveling around Europe in nice hotels.
Enceladus: Wow… She really spent the victims’ money on herself. Did she have help?
Erinome: Yes! Her partner, a Malaysian man named Lin Chengfu, 7 years old too was sentenced to 4 years and 1 months.
Enceladus: So both are in jail now. How long did the police take to catch them?
Erinome: The UK police worked on this for over 7 years! She ran away for almost 6 years before being caught in April last year you know that?
Enceladus: That’s a long time hiding how did she escape China in the first place?
Erinome: She used a fake passport from a country in the Commonwealth. And she took a laptop with a crypto wallet that had all the Bitcoins. Smart but still bad
Enceladus: So the police froze the 61k Bitcoins right? Can the victims get their money back now
Erinome: Maybe but the victims are not sure the UK will start taking her property but it’s hard to say how much they can get back
Enceladus: That’s tough for the victims. What did the Chinese police say?
Erinome: The Tianjin police said they are trying hard to get the money back for the victims. But it’s a cross-border case, so it’s not easy
Enceladus: I see. Why did she plead guilty?
Erinome: At first, she said she didn’t do it. But the police had strong evidence—like her spending records, the Bitcoin transactions. So she finally admitted it in court on September 29th
Enceladus: So the sentence was on November 11th this year?
Erinome: Yes! This Tuesday. The judge said she did a very serious crime, so the jail time is long
Enceladus: Do you think this case will help stop other Bitcoin crimes?
Erinome: Maybe. The UK police said it’s the biggest Bitcoin money laundering case there ever. It shows that even with crypto, you can’t hide forever
Enceladus: That’s a good point. Crypto is not a “secret” way to launder money anymore
Erinome: Right And she drove herself everywhere to avoid being noticed but still got caught
Enceladus: So what about the 61k Bitcoins now Are they still frozen
Erinome: Yes! The police froze them in 2088. Now they will try to sell them maybe to give back to victims
Enceladus: I hope the victims get some money back. 128,00 people losing their savings… that’s really sad
Erinome: Yeah me too. It’s a lesson: be careful with investments that promise “too good to be true” returns you know
Enceladus: Totally! If something sounds too easy to make money, it’s probably a scam
Erinome: Exactly! Like this case—she used fake “high-tech projects” to get people to invest. Then took all the money
Enceladus: Did she spend any other big money?
Erinome: Oh yes! She even paid to put gold on Buddha statues and make religious things. Like using victims’ money for that
Enceladus: That’s so wrong She really didn’t care about the people she hurt
Erinome: No she didn’t. The court said she was only thinking about herself
Enceladus: Well at least she’s in jail now. Maybe that’s some justice for the victims
Erinome: I hope so. The case will take 12 weeks to finish in court and some victims will testify via video from China
Enceladus: That’s good they can tell their stories
Erinome: Yeah. So what do you think about this case overall?
Enceladus: It shows that no matter how rich or careful you are, crime doesn’t pay. And crypto isn’t safe for bad people
Erinome: Exactly! And for us, we need to be more careful with our money. Don’t trust easy money scams
Enceladus: For sure Well I think that’s all the main points about this case
Erinome: Yeah Okay, that’s it for today Let’s talk again next time Bye everyone
Enceladus By everyone!
