In 2018, British police seized approximately 61,000 BTC in connection with a large-scale investment fraud case originating in China. Legal proceedings are currently underway to determine the fate of these assets, with some Chinese victims asserting a claim to the Bitcoin (BTC), while British prosecutors seek to recover it as proceeds of crime.
On October 12, 2026, the High Court of Justice in the UK issued a ruling in this case. The court determined that the claims made by the Chinese victims—who argue that they hold rights to the seized BTC—should be evaluated based on Chinese law, rather than British law.
The following day, the Financial Times reported that this ruling increases the likelihood that the British government will retain the BTC, which is valued at approximately £3.8 billion (about $5 billion).
The BTC in question originated from funds collected through an investment fraud scheme in China between 2014 and 2017, which the perpetrators subsequently converted into Bitcoin. Because the victims originally paid in Chinese yuan—rather than purchasing the BTC directly—a central point of contention is whether the victims’ legal rights extend to the seized Bitcoin.
While this ruling does not definitively grant ownership of the BTC to the British government, the extent to which the victims' claims are recognized could ultimately determine whether any of the Bitcoin is returned to them or what portion remains with the British authorities.
The central figure in this case is a Chinese national named Zhimin Qian. According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK, Qian orchestrated a large-scale investment fraud in China between 2014 and 2017, operating a "Ponzi scheme" in which funds collected from new investors were used to pay off earlier ones. The scheme reportedly affected over 128,000 victims, resulting in losses of approximately $800 million.
Qian converted about $27 million worth of the illicitly obtained funds into Bitcoin (BTC) and left China in 2017. Upon arriving in the UK, she attempted to purchase high-end real estate but was unable to account for the source of her funds, causing the transactions to fall through. The Metropolitan Police Service launched an investigation in 2018 and seized approximately 61,000 BTC. In November 2025, a UK court sentenced Zhimin Qian to 11 years and 8 months in prison for offenses including the possession of criminal proceeds.
However, even after Qian Zhimin’s sentence was determined, the fate of the seized BTC remained undecided. In the meantime, the price of BTC rose significantly following the seizure; according to a report by the Financial Times on October 13, 2026, its value had reached approximately $5 billion. This figure far exceeds the estimated $800 million in damages previously announced by the CPS.
