It said the 47-year-old’s guilty plea followed a seven-year probe into a global money laundering web which began when it got a tipoff about the transfer of criminal assets.

Qian had been “evading justice” for five years up to her arrest, which required a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions, said Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto, who led the Met’s investigation.

She fled China using false documents and entered the UK, where she attempted to launder the stolen money by buying property, said the Met.

“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,” said Qian’s solicitor Roger Sahota, of Berkeley Square Solicitors.

But some reports have suggested the UK government will seek to retain the seized funds.

The BBC has approached the Treasury and the Home Office for a response.

Reforms to crime legislation under the previous Conservative government aimed to make it easier for the UK authorities to seize, freeze and recover crypto assets.

The changes would also allow some victims to apply for the release of their assets held in accounts.

Qian had help from a Chinese takeaway worker named Jian Wen, who was jailed for six years and eight months last year for her part in the criminal operation.

Wen, 44, laundered the proceeds from the scam and moved from living above a restaurant to a “multi-million pound rented house” in north London, said Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) earlier this year.

She also bought two properties in Dubai worth more than £500,000, the CPS said.

The Met said it seized more than £300m worth of bitcoin from Wen.