According to Bitcoin Magazine, the assets to be seized were from Qian Zhimin of Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology. Prosecutors accused Qian of recruiting co-conspirators to sell fake wealth management products nationwide between 2014 and 2017 without approval from financial authorities, per a report from Shanghai news outlet The Paper. The scheme raised around 40.3 billion Chinese yuan ($2.8 billion), and Qian allegedly used investors' cash as dividends for earlier participants while channeling funds into both physical and digital assets.
Alleged Scheme and Asset Holdings
When the scheme unraveled in July 2017, Qian fled to the United Kingdom with the computers holding the cryptocurrency wallets. British authorities later seized cash, jewelry and other cryptocurrencies – including roughly 61,900 BTC – from the fraudster, the report stated [1]. The bitcoin holdings later became central to the case because of how much they have appreciated since 2017.
The structure described by prosecutors follows a pattern familiar to students of fraudulent investment operations, in which early participants are paid with money from later ones. The case has drawn attention in part because the alleged proceeds were not held in bank accounts or real estate alone but converted into a decentralized asset that has since multiplied in price.
Flight to U.K. and Seizure of Crypto Assets
The seized cryptocurrency's value has risen substantially since 2017. British authorities have not announced that Qian has been convicted in the U.K. in connection with the seized bitcoin, according to the report [1].
The scale of the seizure has made the case a reference point for debates over who owns criminal proceeds once those proceeds have been converted into an asset that gains value on its own. Victims' recovery has come to depend less on the original losses than on the legal question of which jurisdiction's courts will decide entitlement to the appreciated coins.
U.K. High Court Ruling on Applicable Law
A serious twist to the case happened when the British High Court ruled that Chinese law – not British law – applies to ownership disputes over the seized bitcoin [1]. The Block reported that more than 61,000 BTC is at stake in the case involving Qian, who it said was jailed last year for money laundering [2].
China Confiscation Proceedings and Victim Registration
The proceedings are intended to determine the disposition of Qian's alleged illicit assets under Chinese law. The notice period precedes the trial itself, meaning that any distribution of the seized assets would follow the conclusion of proceedings in both China and the United Kingdom.
Regulatory Context and Next Steps
The case is proceeding as British and Chinese authorities address cross-border ownership claims over the seized bitcoin. Further U.K. hearings and the Chinese confiscation trial are expected to determine how victims may establish claims to the assets. The case also illustrates a tension in how states treat decentralized money.
References
- China Moves to Confiscate $5 Billion in Bitcoin From Fraudster Who Fled to UK: Report. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/china-to-confiscate-billions-in-bitcoin
- UK High Court rules Chinese law governs claims over $5. https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-13-uk-high-court-rules-chinese-law-governs-claims-over-5-billion-in-seized-bitcoin-418409
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