Wallet cluster holding 28,600 BTC flagged as potentially tied to Zhimin Qian laundering probe

ChainCatcher reports that on-chain investigator Specter has identified a wallet cluster holding 28,600 BTC, worth about $1.8 billion, that appears to be connected to addresses previously linked to the money laundering case involving Zhimin Qian. Specter said a Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2017 resurfaced several weeks ago, moving 1,020 BTC—roughly $60 million—and then dispersing the funds across multiple addresses in a pattern consistent with laundering. Tracing those flows, Specter found links between the broader cluster and addresses publicly associated with the UK-based Zhimin Qian investigation. Authorities allege that between 2014 and 2017, Zhimin Qian ran a large-scale investment fraud in China that impacted more than 128,000 victims. UK investigators later tracked substantial proceeds into Bitcoin, and the Metropolitan Police seized 60,000 BTC, at the time the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history. In July 2021, UK authorities moved the seized BTC, leaving identifiable on-chain footprints. After the recent 1,020 BTC transfer, Specter identified additional related wallets, lifting the total in the cluster to 28,600 BTC. The wallets have largely been inactive since June 2021. Specter said on-chain data does not yet clarify whether the addresses remain under the same operator, have shifted to another custodian, or have been flagged by law enforcement.