Defendant in UK’s Biggest Crypto Case Bought Luxury Property in Dubai

A man who pleaded guilty in the U.K. for transferring profits from a scam that led to “the world’s largest crypto seizure” bought luxury property in Dubai, according to leaked real estate data.

Ling Seng Hok, a Malaysian living in the U.K., pleaded guilty on September 30 for helping Chinese national Qian Zhimin move the proceeds of a fraudulent investment scheme, which targeted 128,000 victims in China. Qian, who pleaded guilty to playing a leading role in the scam, had converted the profits into Bitcoin.

The London Metropolitan Police said in a public statement that Qian fled from China to the U.K., where “she attempted to launder the proceeds via purchasing property.”

London police did not elaborate on the property purchases. However, police spokesperson Hannah Kilminster told OCCRP they “are aware of the properties” that appear in the leaked Dubai real estate data.

Police declined to comment further on their investigation. The seven-year ongoing investigation led to the seizure of Bitcoin assets now worth about 5.5 billion pounds ($7.3 billion), which police said was a global record.

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Dubai real estate data shows that Ling bought two properties at a luxury development in the Gulf emirate in November 2021 and September 2022, for a combined total of about $725,000. Records show that he sold the second property five days after purchasing it, at a profit of $63,000.

Andrew Goldman, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service, referred OCCRP to public statements that "make it clear that we will look into criminal assets," but added that he was “unable to comment on specifics."

The law firm that represented Ling in court, 33 Chancery Lane, declined to comment on questions about his Dubai property interests, citing the ongoing trial.

Police said in their statement that they had been surveilling Ling who was based in the central England county of Derbyshire. The surveillance alerted them to the presence of Qian. Both were arrested in April 2024, and police seized assets including encrypted devices, cash, gold, and further cryptocurrency.

The pair are due to be sentenced in November.