£1.308 billion (Powerball) on January 13 2016 in the US, for which three winning tickets were sold, remains history’s biggest lottery prize
£1.267 billion (Mega Million) a winner from South Carolina took their time to come forward to claim their prize in March 2019 not long before the April deadline
£633.76 million (Powerball draw) from a winner from Wisconsin
£625.76 million (Powerball) Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts claimed the jackpot in August 2017
£575.53 million (Powerball) A lucky pair of winners scooped the jackpot in Iowa and New York in October 2018
1 day agoNews TvComments Off on Crypto mastermind who wanted to be ‘Goddess’ guilty of ‘world’s largest theft’ after stealing £5.5BILLION in Bitcoin
A CRYPTO mastermind who had dreams of being a “Goddess” has been found guilty of stealing £5.5billion in Bitcoin.
Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, fled to the UK in 2017 after ripping off 128,000 investors in China and converting their cash into cryptocurrency.
Not known, clear with picture deskZhimin Qian aka Yadi Zhang has been found guilty of stealing £5.5billion in Bitcoin, thought to be the largest law enforcement seizure of the currency ever[/caption]
CPSShe rented a £5m house in Hampstead Heath, London[/caption]
The cryptocurrency was worth £1.4bn at the time but its value has now risen to more than £5bn.
Qian’s haul is thought to be the largest law enforcement Bitcoin seizure ever worldwide.
Qian was arrested in April last year after spending years on the run.
Police first raided her £5m six-bedroom rented house near Hampstead Heath, in north London, on 31 October 2018.
But it was another two and a half years before investigators discovered more than 61,000 Bitcoin in digital wallets – one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency seizures in the world.
Qian was due to face trial at Southwark Crown Court but has pleaded guilty to charges of possessing criminal property and transferring criminal property on or before 23 April 2024.
Qian admitted charges of possessing and transferring criminal property on the first day of her trial at Southwark Crown Court.
The 47-year-old, wearing glasses, a brown cardigan and an animal print top, was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, which will take place at a later date.
In a digital diary seized by UK police, Qian recorded her desire to be anointed “Reincarnated Goddess” by the Dalai Lama, reports the Financial Times.
The diary also outlined her plans for the kingdom she would rule in known as “Liberland”, reports the outlet.
She planned to lead a 7 sq km unrecognised and uninhabited micronation located on the Danube between Croatia and Serbia.
Qian’s other plans included a Buddhist temple, infrastructure including an airport and port, and a £5million crown and sceptre.
Now, the fortune is at the centre of an intense battle between the UK government and Chinese investors over who gets to keep it.
The seized assets have reportedly been earmarked by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to help plug the hole in the public finances.
MET POLICE/UNPIXSPiles of cash discovered during police searches connected to Qian’s associate Wen[/caption]
AlamyQian recorded her desire to be anointed ‘Reincarnated Goddess’ by the Dalai Lama[/caption]
Central NewsJian Wen, 42, acted as a front for Zhimin Qian, who fled to the UK from China in 2017[/caption]
Qian emerged from relative obscurity to run a Chinese company called Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, launched in March 2014.
The firm sold investment products with promised returns of up to 300 per cent.
But in reality, she was simply funnelling her investors’ money into Bitcoin for her own enrichment.
Prosecutor Gillian Jones KC said she would not apply to launch confiscation proceedings because of the ongoing proceedings in the High Court.
Will Lyne, the Metropolitan Police‘s head of economic and cybercrime command, said Qian’s guilty pleas marked the culmination of “years of dedicated investigation“.
He said: “This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally.”
Zhang’s solicitor, Roger Sahota of Berkeley Square Solicitors, said: “By pleading guilty today, Ms Zhang hopes to bring some comfort to investors who have waited since 2017 for compensation, and to reassure them that the significant rise in cryptocurrency values means there are more than sufficient funds available to repay their losses.”
What is money laundering?
MONEY laundering is a serious offence that can land you a long jail sentence.
The total amount of cash laundered each year in the UK goes into the tens of billions – with the problem itself costing the country billions to deal with.
Money laundering is the process where criminals hide the proceeds of crime by disguising it as legitimate income from another business.
Cash can be laundered on a small scale with just one business or a large scale through financial institutions.
Money laundering is illegal because cops want crime to be unprofitable.
Hundreds of billions of pounds are thought to be knowingly and unknowingly laundered through banks.
The sentence depends on the amount of money involved – the seriousness of the offence increases with the amount of laundered cash.
Laundering drug money will typically lead to a higher sentence.
The money itself will also be subject to a confiscation order.
It comes after her assistant Jian Wen, 43, was jailed in 2024 for six years and eight months.
Wen was found guilty of one count of money laundering between October 2017 and January 2022.
The charge related to 150 Bitcoin, which is now worth an estimated £12.5m.
Her trial heard Wen was not involved in the alleged fraud but was said to have acted as a “front person” to help disguise the source of the money.
Some of the funds had been used to buy cryptocurrency and smuggled out of China on laptops.
1 day agoNews TvComments Off on Benjamin Netanyahu apologizes for Israeli strike on Qatar in three-way call with Trump
Israel's prime minister apologized to Qatar's PM, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, for the Sept. 9 strike targeting Hamas leaders during his meeting with Trump at the White House.
1 day agoNews TvComments Off on Russia Gosloto Evening Results: Monday, 29 September 2025
The latest evening results of Russia Gosloto are out, following the latest draw on Monday, 29 September 2025. Russia Gosloto Evening Results The winning numbers for the Russia Gosloto draw for today at 22:00 were: Pending… More on Russia Gosloto 6/45 Evening: Results Predictions Insights
1 day agoNews TvComments Off on Popular Derry City star promises to ‘finish my career at the Brandywell’ after signing new three-year contract
MICHAEL DUFFY has signed a new three-year contract at Derry City and insisted he will finish his career at the Brandywell. Duffy, 31, rejoined his hometown club in 2022 after spells away with Celtic and Dundalk and helped the club win the FAI Cup on his return. The ambitious Candystripes have not added silverware since...
Nancy has Italian heritage. Her first two words to her fellow contestants was “Hi, Ciao!” exemplifying her Italian roots.
She is a recent graduate of Glasgow University.
Nancy told her audience that, since she has left uni she has been feeling “lost.”
Shutterstock EditorialNancy’s introduction to the show[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialNancy with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best[/caption]
“I don’t want to sound too cliché but I was feeling very lost in my life because I had just graduated from university.
“I’m looking forward to discovering myself even more and seeing how I can connect with people that are different to me.”
“And just seeing who I am as a person and finding out more about myself, connecting with others and making friends.”
When she was asked what she would bring to the show Nancy said “Definitely being Italian, my fiery side. I’m very energetic, always talking, using my hands to talk and do things.”
Nancy is only 22 and this is the youngest cast of Big Brother ever.
There are only two contestants who are over the age of 27 – Caroline and Gani.
Emily Hewertson, 25, gained fame by being falsely accused of throwing a milkshake at Reform leader Nigel Farage. She has over 160,000 followers on X.
X/emilyhewertsonEmily Hewertson with Reform leader Nigel Farage[/caption]
Elsa Rae is another social media star, her on again off again relationship with Ed Matthews is well documented on the internet. She has over 300,000 followers.
TikTok/elsarae2Elsa Rae and Ed Matthews[/caption]
Zelah is another fellow contestant for Nancy that has a large social media platform. He is a transgender personal trainer who has amassed close to 100,000 followers on Tik Tok.
Shutterstock EditorialZelah’s introduction to Big Brother[/caption]
“Elsa????? She’s a well known influencer why’s she on the normal version.”
“Big Brother were doing a little tooooo well with the casting this series i knew they’d eventually ruin it and they did by casting an influencer.”
“Elsa has like 300k followers on tik tok. Is big brother going to ever get the memo that we want normal folk? That Emily has also got loads of followers on here as well.”
When is Big Brother on?
The new season began on Sunday September 28 at 9pm.
You can catch the show every day on ITV.
If you have missed the first episode of can not see any of the rest of them live, you can watch them on ITVX.
