00:00Here's today's Derbyshire Times video bulletin.
00:03A Derbyshire man has been convicted after admitting his role in a multi-billion pound fraudulent Bitcoin scheme.
00:10The Met Police has made what it is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency sieger in the world at this time, worth more than 5.5 billion pounds.
00:18It follows a seven-year investigation by the Met's economic crime team into international money laundering, which has seen two figures convicted for their crimes.
00:27Ximin Qian, aged 47, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to charges that she acquired criminal property, namely cryptocurrency, possessing criminal property, namely cryptocurrency.
00:39At the same court yesterday, Hock Seng Ling, aged 46, from Matlock, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property, namely cryptocurrency, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
00:48Between 2014 and 2017, Qian orchestrated a large-scale fraud in China, defrauding over 128,000 victims and going on to store the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.
01:00She then fled China under false documents and entered the UK, where she tried to launder the proceeds by buying property.
01:08Met's surveillance of her Derbyshire-based associate, Hock Seng Ling, led to discovery of her presence in Scotland and later York.
01:14The two were arrested in 2024, where assets seized included encrypted devices, cash, gold and further cryptocurrency.
01:22As of July 2025, these were valued at being worth 11 million pounds.
01:27The pair are due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court next month.
01:31An eight-year-old boy from Chesterfield with a rare genetic condition has had his dream come true when he became a firefighter for a day.
01:40Elliot had a special behind-the-scenes experience at Chesterfield Fire Station, thanks to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service and Make-A-Wish UK.
01:48Elliot has a rare and progressive genetic condition that only affects a handful of children worldwide.
01:53It causes a toxic build-up of sulphur in the brain, leading to serious neurological damage over time, and sadly there is no cure.
02:02The youngster, who loves Fireman Sam, was treated like one of the Chesterfield crew, meeting real firefighters, riding on the fire engine and even getting to hold the fire hose.
