The 61,000 Bitcoin Money Laundering Case: The Escape and Recapture of a Mysterious Cult Leader

In March 2024, British media reported on a sensational Bitcoin money laundering case involving Ms. Yadi Zhang (the alias used by Ms

In March 2024, British media reported on a sensational Bitcoin money laundering case involving Ms. Yadi Zhang (the alias used by Ms. Zhimin Qian), the founder of Tianjin Blue Sky Grid Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Blue Sky Grid") in China. The case involves 61,000 Bitcoins, which, at their highest market value, are worth up to 32 billion yuan.

As an "investor" in Blue Sky Grid, a female victim surnamed Zhang from Inner Mongolia recalled that she had only met the mastermind behind the company, Ms. Qian, once. At the time, Ms. Qian was using the alias "Flower" and was wearing a veil over her face and sitting in a wheelchair. It was rumored that she had graduated from Tsinghua University with dual doctorates and had studied in the United States. Blue Sky Grid claimed that Ms. Qian was an expert in finance and had brought technology back from the US; however, these claims have not been verified.

China News Weekly has learned that Ms. Qian was previously involved in a pyramid scheme case in Hefei, Anhui Province, under the alias "Xia Li." In 2013, she was charged with organizing and leading a pyramid scheme and was "handled in a separate case." Less than a year later, she established Blue Sky Grid in Tianjin.

Blue Sky Grid lured investors with high returns, offering a range of financial products, including Bitcoin mining and life bracelets. However, most of these projects were either fake or mere facades, designed to attract investors. Blue Sky Grid also opened physical stores in various locations to expand its reach and sell its financial products.

In April 2017, the police launched an investigation into Blue Sky Grid for alleged illegal fundraising. In June 2019, the Hedong District Public Security Bureau of Tianjin arrested 50 suspects, including Jiang Tao Ren, the legal representative of Blue Sky Grid. In September 2021, Ren was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his assistant, Ya Fang Huang, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Before the police launched their investigation, Ms. Qian fled China in February 2017 with the assistance of her then-boyfriend, Mr. Zhaofeng Zhao.

Blue Sky Grid raised over 40.2 billion yuan in funds, of which more than 1.14 billion yuan was used to purchase Bitcoin. According to British court documents, the 61,000 Bitcoins held by Ms. Qian are believed to have largely originated from her large-scale fraudulent activities in China.

In June 2014, Ms. Qian opened a digital currency trading account in the name of Mr. Jiangtao Ren and purchased Bitcoin with over 1.1 billion yuan in illicit funds.

According to Liu Yang, a lawyer at Deheng Law Firm in Beijing who specializes in virtual digital currency, Ms. Qian's alleged Bitcoin money laundering scheme was relatively straightforward. She fled to the UK in September 2017, and in the same month, seven Chinese ministries and commissions issued a notice on preventing risks in token issuance financing, which led to the closure of exchange channels between the Chinese yuan and virtual digital currencies. This means that before the incident, Ms. Qian could have used illicit funds to purchase Bitcoin directly on trading platforms. Due to the lack of anti-money laundering measures such as account real-name verification at the time, she was able to easily escape abroad with her Bitcoin.

Liu Yang estimates that the value of the 61,000 Bitcoins held by Ms. Qian could reach up to 32 billion yuan, based on the highest market price of Bitcoin since 2024.

Liu Yang believes that "it is important to preserve as much evidence as possible of the flow of funds to prove the connection between the 61,000 Bitcoins seized in the UK and the Blue Sky Grid case." This could help recover these Bitcoins.