Blockchain investigator Specter said it has identified a wallet cluster holding 28,600 BTC, worth about $1.8 billion, that may be tied to wallets previously attributed to the Zhimin Qian money-laundering case. The finding followed the movement of 1,020 BTC, valued at roughly $60 million, from a Bitcoin wallet that had been dormant since 2017. After the transfer, the funds were distributed across multiple addresses in a pattern Specter said was consistent with laundering activity.
By tracing those transactions, Specter said the cluster could be connected to addresses publicly linked to the U.K. investigation into Zhimin Qian. The report also pointed to a transfer of seized BTC by British authorities in July 2021, which created identifiable on-chain links. Following the recent 1,020 BTC movement, Specter said it found additional wallets, bringing the total holdings of the related cluster to 28,600 BTC. Those wallets have been largely dormant since June 2021.
Specter added that the available on-chain evidence is not enough to determine whether the wallets are still controlled by the same actor, managed by another custodian, or already known to law enforcement.
According to ChainCatcher, blockchain investigator Specter has identified a wallet cluster holding 28,600 BTC, worth about $1.8 billion, that may be related to wallets previously attributed to the Zhimin Qian money-laundering case.
A few weeks ago, a Bitcoin wallet that had been dormant since 2017 moved 1,020 BTC, valued at about $60 million, and began distributing the funds across multiple addresses in what Specter described as a pattern consistent with laundering activity. After tracing those transactions, Specter said the connected wallet cluster links to addresses publicly associated with the U.K. investigation into Zhimin Qian.
On-chain links trace back to the U.K. investigation
Specter said British authorities moved seized BTC in July 2021, creating identifiable on-chain connections. After the recent transfer of 1,020 BTC, Specter identified additional wallets. Together, those wallets now hold 28,600 BTC, worth about $1.8 billion.
Specter also said the wallets have been largely dormant since June 2021.
Background of the Zhimin Qian case
From 2014 to 2017, Zhimin Qian organized a large-scale investment fraud scheme in China that affected more than 128,000 victims. British authorities later traced a large amount of criminal proceeds into Bitcoin, and the Metropolitan Police ultimately seized 60,000 BTC, which was the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.K. history at the time.
Control of the wallets remains unclear
Based on the available on-chain evidence, it is still not possible to determine whether the wallets remain under the control of the same actor, are being managed by another custodian, or have already been identified by law enforcement.
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