This marks the world’s largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure by law enforcement.
The Metropolitan Police in the UK announced the successful conviction of a Chinese national, Qian Zhimin, who was also known as Zhang Yadi, as Reuters reported. She was pleaded guilty to illegally acquiring and possessing a staggering £5.5 billion in Bitcoin.
The conviction follows a seven-year investigation into a global money laundering web. The defendant was found to have led a large-scale scam in China between 2014 and 2017, defrauding over 128,000 victims before fleeing to the UK.
The case highlights the growing collaboration between international authorities to track and confiscate criminal proceeds stored in digital assets, cementing the notion that cryptocurrency is not an untouchable haven for illicit funds.
Some experts claim that this story can be viewed as a win for global regulators and law enforcement, demonstrating the eventual traceability of large-scale crypto crimes. It sends a strong signal to the market about the risks associated with using digital assets for illicit activities.
Source: https://coinidol.com/record-shattering-bitcoin-seizure/