It was the fall of 2016. Zhang Li attended a promotion meeting organized by Blue Sky Green in Beijing with more than a thousand people. Qian Zhimin showed up. It was a crazy scene: Qian Zhimin, wearing a pink and white veil and sitting in a wheelchair, was lifted up in the aisle leading to the conference table. People held Qian Zhimin up and shouted slogans, one of which was "Three Generations of Wealth" - it came from Blue Sky Green's slogan: "Give Green three years, and Green will give you three generations of wealth."
Eight years later, Qian Zhimin has attracted more attention. In March 2024, the British media reported a Bitcoin money laundering case involving Qian Zhimin. In this case, the British police locked up 61,000 Bitcoins, which are worth more than 32 billion yuan if calculated based on the highest market value of Bitcoin since 2024. This is the largest cryptocurrency money laundering case investigated by the UK. And the owner of these Bitcoins is Qian Zhimin.
Photo/Visual China
A British judicial document obtained by China Newsweek describes that the 61,000 bitcoins were mainly purchased with the proceeds of crimes committed by Qian Zhimin in China. Qian Zhimin is the owner and controller of Blue Sky Green. After the Chinese police investigated Blue Sky Green, Qian Zhimin fled China in July 2017 and arrived in the UK in September 2017 with a passport in the name of Yadi Zhang. She hired a Chinese woman named Wen Jian in the UK to assist in money laundering. Wen Jian was arrested in May 2021, tried in 2023, and was later convicted of money laundering. Qian Zhimin fled for a time. In late April 2024, British media reported that Qian Zhimin was arrested in the UK and remanded in custody pending trial.
A series of questions have been raised by the public regarding Lantian Ge Rui and Qian Zhimin: Who is Qian Zhimin? How did she escape successfully? How will the 61,000 bitcoins be handled?
The mysterious "Flower"
In an interview with a reporter from China Newsweek, more than one "investor" of Blue Sky Green recalled the scene where "Huahua" deliberately covered her face when she appeared in front of them.
Zheng Zhengge (pseudonym) is a teacher in Wuxi County, Chongqing. He was introduced to BlueSky Green by his high school classmate in 2016. At that time, Zheng Zhengge and his wife each invested 60,000 yuan in the product with a try-it attitude.
The public judgment documents show that on March 31, 2014, Qian Zhimin registered and established Lantiange Rui in Tianjin. Lantiange Rui has seven regions, namely Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Northeast China, East China, South China, Central China, Northwest China and Southwest China, to manage the sales of wealth management products nationwide. From April 2014 to August 2017, Lantiange Rui launched ten wealth management products, using 1 to 3 times the investment return rate as bait to illegally absorb public deposits.
Zheng Zhengge and his wife invested in the seventh financial product of Blue Sky Green, the Carnival Franchise Plan. According to the agreement, the "service dividend" of the plan is a dividend issued every working day during the 30 months of "investment", and the amount of the dividend increases gradually every 6 months, specifically: 100 yuan per share from the 1st to 6th month; 200 yuan per share from the 7th to 12th month; 300 yuan per share from the 13th to 18th month; 400 yuan per share from the 19th to 24th month; 500 yuan per share from the 25th to 30th month.
Zheng Zhengge recalled: "We observed for a while and found that it did return the money on time. In this way, the principal could be returned in more than 20 months, and the full return would be two or three times the profit. So later we added more money to invest in it, until BlueSky Green collapsed in July 2017, and we invested more than 1 million yuan in total."
The person wearing a mask on the right is Qian Zhimin. Photo/provided by the interviewee
During the two years of investing in BlueSky Green, Zheng Zhengge's wife had met "Huahua". During the general meeting, "Huahua" would wear a mask, sit in a wheelchair, and sit in the front of the venue. "Investors" were not allowed to bring mobile phones, take photos or record videos. Until BlueSky Green's collapse, Zheng Zhengge didn't know what "Huahua's" real name was. Looking back, it was Zhang Li who let Zheng Zhengge and other "investors" know the name "Qian Zhimin".
Zhang Li came into contact with Blue Sky Green in 2016, when she was still working in the education system in Inner Mongolia. A friend of hers who retired from the local procuratorate was the "net head" of Blue Sky Green in Hohhot. Under the influence of this friend, she bought a financial product of Blue Sky Green, the Carnival Merchants Plan, which cost 60,000 yuan per share. Later, under the influence of Zhang Li, her four relatives and friends also bought one each, with a total investment of 300,000 yuan. By July 2017, Blue Sky Green collapsed, and each person received a rebate of more than 20,000 yuan.
Among the "investors" of Blue Sky Green, Zhang Li and her relatives and friends suffered the least loss. Zheng Zhengge recalled that many "investors" would reinvest the money they received back, and the snowball kept getting bigger and bigger, especially from April to July 2017 before Blue Sky Green collapsed. At that time, the police had already investigated Blue Sky Green, and the "investors" were unaware of it. Blue Sky Green held promotional meetings in various places, and many people reinvested all the rebate money.
Zhang Li did not follow suit. Before investing in BlueSky Green, Zhang Li went to Beijing to attend BlueSky Green's conference at least twice, the first time in May and June 2016, and the second time in the fall of 2016. It was at the second promotion conference that Zhang Li witnessed Huahua, who was sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a veil, being lifted up by the crowd again and again. She felt that BlueSky Green was like a pyramid scheme, "and then a few new products came out, so I told everyone that no one should invest anymore."
Lantian Green’s bankruptcy occurred on July 27, 2017. Zhang Li recalled that Lantian Green stopped returning money that day. She asked the friend who introduced her to the investment and was told that the relevant state departments were going to conduct an internal inspection of Lantian Green, and after the inspection, the rebate would continue. Zhang Li waited for a week, but the rebate was still not restored. She discussed the matter in an "investor" WeChat group, but was kicked out of the group. On December 5, 2017, she called the police in Inner Mongolia, and on December 7, she went to the Chunhua Road Police Station of the Hedong Branch of the Tianjin Public Security Bureau, where Lantian Green is located, to report the case.
Zhang Li was one of the first "investors" to call the police after the BlueSky Green explosion. At the Chunhua Road Police Station, the police told Zhang Li the real name of "Huahua", and Zhang Li sent this news to another "investor" WeChat group. Only then did everyone know that "Huahua" was Qian Zhimin.
Qian Zhimin
Almost no "investors" know Qian Zhimin's background. The only things that are passed on by word of mouth are Blue Sky Green's public promotional information and unconfirmed legends.
Blue Sky Gerui publicized that "Huahua" graduated from Tsinghua University, has double doctorates, studied in the United States and understands finance. "Investor" Han Xinghai (pseudonym) from Shenyang heard that "Huahua" brought back a lot of technology from the United States. He once asked "Huahua" at a promotion meeting why she was not allowed to take pictures. "She said it was because American technology was brought back to her and if it was revealed, the United States would impose sanctions on her."
In late April 2024, British media reported that after Qian Zhimin was arrested in the UK, she provided the court with the identity of Yadi Zhang as November 10, 1990. However, according to China Newsweek, an unnamed insider said that this date may not be true. The insider said that Qian Zhimin was born in Rugao, Jiangsu in September 1978, had a college degree, was married, and later divorced.
Qian Zhimin's early life is still unknown to the outside world. China News Weekly learned that in 2013, she was involved in a pyramid scheme case in Hefei, Anhui. At that time, Qian Zhimin used the alias "Li Xia". There were many people involved in the case and the amount of money involved was huge. After the case, some people were arrested and sentenced, but Qian Zhimin, the operator, has been on the run. This may explain why Qian Zhimin deliberately maintained a mysterious image and was unwilling to show herself openly during her later operation of Blue Sky Green.
A promotional event of BlueSky Green. Photo/provided by the interviewee
A judgment issued by the People's Court of Yaohai District, Hefei City in December 2014 against Zhao Mou for organizing and leading pyramid selling activities describes the ins and outs of the pyramid selling case. The court found out that in late March 2013, Zhao Mou joined the pyramid selling organization "UBS International Group Limited, Hong Kong" (hereinafter referred to as "UBS International, Hong Kong") organized by Qian Zhimin and others. The organization used the name of "investing in camellia oil projects" to attract others to join through online publicity, on-site teaching, field visits and other means. The organization has a membership system, requiring each person to pay 2,800 yuan to obtain membership qualifications, with no limit on multiple investments, and the number of downstream personnel is used as the basis for remuneration or rebates.
In Zhao's case, Li Xia, the actual person in charge of UBS International Hong Kong, is Qian Zhimin. Zhao confessed that UBS International Hong Kong was registered in Hong Kong in September 2012, and its chairman is Li Xia. Its office in Hefei is located in Hengfeng Building in Yaohai District. Two signs are hung in front of the office door: UBS International Hong Kong and Hefei Fuyongquan Grain and Oil Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fuyongquan Grain and Oil Company"). Li Xia is not often in the company, and her daily work is handled by others.
The company used the packaging of Hong Kong UBS International, an overseas company, to promote the Fuyongquan Grain and Oil Company and the 60,000-acre camellia base in Tianzhu Mountain as a gimmick, and to attract people to conduct field visits by reimbursing travel expenses and accommodation expenses. If you become a member, you can buy the company's camellia oil at a 50% to 60% discount for life and enjoy rebates.
Fu Yongquan Grain and Oil Company was a partner that Qian Zhimin had specially found to attract "members". Wang Moujia, general manager of Fu Yongquan Grain and Oil Company, testified that in early March 2013, a woman who claimed to be Li Xia from UBS International Hong Kong came to their company and specifically asked the company to purchase camellia oil gift boxes worth 700,000 yuan. After negotiations, the two parties signed a cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, the company provided an office in the factory for UBS International Hong Kong. At the end of March, UBS International Hong Kong organized a group of people to visit. The company found that the groups of people they brought were very mixed and not very formal, so it immediately stopped the visit and no longer provided an office in the factory. In May 2013, Fu Yongquan Grain and Oil Company terminated the production cooperation agreement with UBS International Hong Kong.
Zhao confessed that since mid-June 2013, the company's website and membership system have not been functioning properly, and cash withdrawals have also been abnormal. The company explained that the website was being upgraded and the system was attacked by hackers, and the third-party payment account was frozen. On the morning of July 1, 2013, Li Xia sent a message to company employees asking them not to worry, as she was collecting money. At 13:00 on the same day, the company's website was inaccessible.
In November 2013, Zhao was arrested and later sentenced to two years in prison for organizing and leading pyramid selling activities. Qian Zhimin was "handled separately."
Less than a year after the pyramid scheme case in Hefei was investigated, on March 31, 2014, the fugitive Qian Zhimin registered and established Lantiange Rui in Tianjin.
'A well-designed trap'
The field investigation routine was completely transplanted to Blue Sky Grey's project - some "investors" came not for financial products, but for Blue Sky Grey's other businesses.
In late February and early March 2017, Blue Sky Green “investors” from Shenyang were organized to Tianjin to inspect Bitcoin mines. At that time, Blue Sky Green publicly announced that it had Bitcoin mines in Tianjin and other places, and was recruiting investments for mining.
One of the "investors" Wang Yaya (pseudonym) recalled that there were hundreds of people who went to inspect the project from Shenyang, and they paid for their own fares, while accommodation and meals were free of charge. After so many years, she no longer remembers the location of the Bitcoin mining farm in Tianjin. She only remembers that "there were warehouses after warehouses in that place. There was a slogan saying "Tianjin Blue Sky Gerui Bitcoin Warehouse" and it was built on a vacant lot." When they visited, the mining machines were not in use. “The team leader said that because we were here, we were afraid of radiation, so the power went out.” It wasn't until the thunderstorm broke out in the blue sky that Wang Yaya heard someone say that the mining machines they visited back then were just "junk things" that "created an illusion to make us invest."
An investment agreement for a financial product signed between an “investor” and BlueSky Green. Photo/provided by the interviewee
Wang Youya recalled that they stayed in a hotel in the suburbs of Tianjin. The hotel was full of "investors" like her from all over the country. "It was crowded with people."
Before the inspection, Wang Youya had already invested in Lantian Green, but it was just a "small investment". The on-site inspection made her decide to invest heavily. Until the explosion, she had invested more than 800,000 yuan.
According to China Newsweek, the Bitcoin mines set up by BlueSky Green in many places are not all props or decorations. After being arrested, Ren Jiangtao, the legal representative of BlueSky Green, confessed that Qian Zhimin assigned the company businesses including Bitcoin and Dotcoin mining, and he was responsible for maintaining the mining farms and mining machines, and transferring the mined virtual coins to Qian Zhimin from time to time.
Pan, the person in charge of the Blue Sky Green Mine, testified that they were responsible for installing the mining machines, and the mining machines and electricity were provided by Qian Zhimin. Qian Zhimin also sent people to connect to the network, and the mined bitcoins were deposited into Qian Zhimin's online wallet. In 2014, Blue Sky Green took people to visit the mine several times. By 2017, the mining machines were eliminated and sold as scrap at a price of 30 yuan each.
What attracted Shenyang "investor" Han Xinghai was not Bitcoin mining, but a life bracelet from Blue Sky Gray. In October 2015, he, a former doctor, attended the product launch conference. According to reports, the life bracelet is equipped with a chip. One of its functions is dual positioning through GPS and Beidou. The positioning position does not exceed 15 meters. "From now on, an elderly person will no longer be lost." If an elderly person needs help, press the red button on the bracelet and "an ambulance will be at your side within 10 minutes."
Lantian Green also released a number of other products at that time. According to Han Xinghai's recollection, there were anti-smog air purifiers and anti-fatigue seat belts. One of them was an air purifier called "Big Blue". "'Huahua' said that in crowded places, the company can install Big Blue free of charge. It can filter 300 square meters of air every 15 minutes, including viruses, smoke and other toxic substances, which can be analyzed through the company's supercomputer." The anti-fatigue seat belt has a chip. "When driving, once you feel tired, it will automatically alarm through changes in heart rate and breathing pulse." Han Xinghai said.
The office of BlueSky Green Company located in Fujian Building in Hedong District, Tianjin, has been sealed off. Photo by our reporter Liu Xiangnan
At the promotion meeting, Lantian Green claimed that these products were independently developed by the company or developed in cooperation with other institutions. During the trial of Ren Jiangtao, Qian Zhimin's assistant Li testified that Lantian Green would hold a product launch conference when launching new financial products, usually attended and spoken by Qian Zhimin and Ren Jiangtao. There are seven products corresponding to the financial products, namely Life Ring, Xiaolan Anti-haze Purifier, Dabai Electronic Sterilizer, Duoduo Robot, Blue and White Desktop Air Purifier, Purification Mask and Dalan City Air Purifier. These products were purchased from manufacturers in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Lantian Green had established the Life Ring Project Service Center and set up more than 200 physical stores. Song, the operations director of the Life Ring Project Center, testified that during his tenure as a director, he gradually realized that the real purpose of Lantian Green's establishment of this service center was to expand the company's influence and then sell financial products.
Han Xinghai was attracted by the product after attending several product promotion meetings. His investment began in October 2015, and he invested more than 12 million yuan. "Lantian Green is a carefully designed trap," said Zheng Zhengge.
Many people were sentenced, and "Huahua" escaped
China Newsweek learned that the public security authorities opened a case for investigation on April 21, 2017, because Lantian Green was suspected of illegally absorbing public deposits. In June 2019, the Hedong Branch of the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice that the public security authorities had arrested 50 criminal suspects including Lantian Green's legal representative Ren Jiangtao, 28 of whom had been transferred for review and prosecution.
In February 2021, the Hedong District People's Court of Tianjin publicly tried the case of Lantian Green's legal person Ren Jiangtao. Ren was tried together with his assistant Huang Yafang, who was also Ren's girlfriend. The court found that from June 2014 to August 2017, Ren, as the legal person of Lantian Green, participated in the illegal absorption of more than 40.2 billion yuan in public deposits; Huang participated in the illegal absorption of more than 17.6 billion yuan in public deposits. In September 2021, the court sentenced Ren to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan, and Huang to 5 years in prison and a fine of 250,000 yuan.
Ren Jiangtao confessed that he met Qian Zhimin through playing online games. Because he completely obeyed Qian Zhimin's command in the game, Qian Zhimin asked him to serve as the legal representative of BlueSky Green, but in fact he was just a figurehead and his specific work was still arranged by Qian Zhimin. At that time, it was verbally agreed that Qian Zhimin would give him 1 million yuan after working for three years, and also agreed to a monthly salary of 30,000 yuan, but in reality he only received 12,000 to 15,000 yuan per month, and stopped receiving it after more than a year, and he did not receive the 1 million yuan agreed before.
In addition, China Newsweek learned that the public security organs found that the general manager of Lantian Green Rui, Wu Xiaolong, had fled abroad during the investigation of the Lantian Green Rui case, so they pursued him online. Wu Xiaolong once tried to smuggle out of the country, but failed. In September 2017, he was arrested in Nanbu County, Sichuan. In November 2021, the Hedong District People's Court of Tianjin sentenced Wu Xiaolong to eight years and six months in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan for the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits. The court found that from August 2014 to July 2017, Wu Xiaolong, as the head of the Lantian Green Rui wealth management product sales team, illegally absorbed more than 8.7 billion yuan in public deposits.
This is not the first time Wu Xiaolong has been arrested. In August 2016, Wu Xiaolong was arrested for suspected illegal fundraising when he held a product promotion meeting for BlueSky Green in Linghai City, Liaoning Province. At the instruction of Qian Zhimin, Fan from BlueSky Green asked Huo Jian, then deputy secretary and deputy manager of Linghai Water Supply Company, for help. Huo Jian then asked Zhang Lie, then deputy captain of the Economic Investigation Brigade of Linghai Public Security Bureau, to help Wu Xiaolong. During this process, Huo Jian received 6.7 million yuan in benefits from BlueSky Green, and Zhang Lie received 8.3 million yuan. Huo Jian and Zhang Lie were both sentenced in 2023.
As for Qian Zhimin, before the public security authorities opened a case for investigation, in February 2017, she asked her then boyfriend Zhao Moufeng to help her sneak across the border. Zhao Moufeng runs an antique company in Shanghai. With Zhao's help, Qian Zhimin fled across the border. The details of her escape are unknown. China Newsweek contacted the Tianjin police, but the police did not accept the interview.
How can 61,000 Bitcoins be “recovered”
According to a special audit, from August 2014 to July 2017, Blue Sky Green absorbed more than 40.2 billion yuan in funds, all of which were controlled by Qian Zhimin. From April 2014 to August 2017, Blue Sky Green returned more than 34.1 billion yuan to 128,409 people, of which more than 95.68 million yuan was used to buy jewelry, more than 91.89 million yuan was used to buy real estate, more than 210 million yuan was used for daily operating expenses, and more than 120 million yuan was used for the Life and Environment Customer Service Center project. In addition, it is worth noting that more than 1.14 billion yuan was used to buy Bitcoin.
The "Zhang Yadi (Qian Zhimin) and Wen Jian money laundering case" that has recently attracted media attention involves a total of 61,000 bitcoins. According to British judicial documents on the case obtained by China Newsweek, these 61,000 bitcoins are believed to be mostly from large-scale fraud crimes committed by Qian Zhimin in China. In June 2014, Qian Zhimin opened a digital currency trading account in the name of Ren Jiangtao and used more than 1.1 billion yuan in stolen money to buy bitcoins.
How did Qian Zhimin use Bitcoin to launder money? According to Liu Yang, a lawyer at Beijing Deheng Law Firm who has been paying close attention to virtual digital currencies, Qian Zhimin's alleged money laundering through Bitcoin is not complicated. Qian Zhimin fled to the UK in September 2017. On September 4 of the same year, the central bank and seven other ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Preventing the Risks of Token Issuance and Financing". Since then, virtual digital currency exchanges have closed the exchange channel between RMB and virtual digital currencies. In other words, Qian Zhimin could use the stolen money to directly purchase Bitcoin on the trading platform before the incident. Coupled with the absence of anti-money laundering measures such as real-name account system at the time, she easily fled abroad with Bitcoin.
In Liu Yang's view, the 61,000 bitcoins held by Qian Zhimin are worth more than 32 billion yuan if calculated based on the highest market value of Bitcoin since 2024.
Liu Yang believes that "at present, we should collect evidence of capital flow to the greatest extent possible to prove that the 61,000 bitcoins seized by the UK are related to the Blue Sky Green case," which may help recover these bitcoins.
