A London High Court ruling has significantly narrowed the path for Chinese fraud victims to reclaim a £3.8 billion Bitcoin seizure in the UK. Justice Turner ruled on October 12 that Chinese law, not English law, governs the victims' claims to the 61,000 seized coins.
The judgment does not settle ownership of the Bitcoin. Instead, it determines which legal framework applies to the case. The court found that the fraudulent scheme's transactions—including sales pitches, payments, and coin purchases—were overwhelmingly centered in China, making Chinese law applicable.
Impact on Victims' Claims
Under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which authorities use to recover criminal assets, each victim must prove the coins are their property. Being owed money as a creditor is insufficient under this law. English law could have offered an alternative route through trust rules that follow stolen money into subsequently purchased assets, but the judge's determination that dealings occurred in China closed this pathway.
Court records show the scheme raised approximately 40.2 billion yuan (£4.1 billion) between 2014 and 2017. Roughly 34.1 billion yuan was paid back to investors, leaving about 6.1 billion yuan unreturned—approximately £600 million at the judgment's exchange rate.
Potential Outcome
Bitcoin seized by authorities but not proven to belong to specific victims can be retained by the state through civil recovery. Given that the 61,000 coins are worth significantly more than the outstanding victim claims, UK authorities could retain the substantial majority of the Bitcoin haul if victims cannot establish direct ownership.
Scheme operator Zhimin Qian was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in November 2025 after pleading guilty. The victims' legal team at Fieldfisher has indicated plans to appeal the ruling.
