UK Court Rules Chinese Law Decides Claims to 61,000 Seized Bitcoin Worth $5 Billion

A London High Court judge ruled that Chinese law governs victims' claims to the 61,000 BTC seized in the Zhimin Qian case, making recovery harder and improving the UK government's chances of keeping the $5 billion haul.

Oct 14, 2026 - 09:09

UK Court Rules Chinese Law Decides Claims to 61,000 Seized Bitcoin Worth $5 Billion

Judge gavel next to a locked glass case full of bitcoin coins in front of a gothic London court building

Published October 14, 2026. A London High Court judge has ruled that Chinese law, not English law, will decide whether the victims of Zhimin Qian's Ponzi scheme own any of the 61,000 bitcoin seized by British police, a haul now worth about $5 billion. The ruling does not settle who gets the coins, but it makes the victims' path harder and improves the UK government's chances of keeping much of it.

Key takeaways

The decision (October 12, 2026): Mr Justice Turner held that Chinese law governs whether investors have property rights in the bitcoin, whether the question is analysed under the Rome I or Rome II rules or the common law, according to a summary by Duan & Duan, one of the firms acting for victims.
To win under the Proceeds of Crime Act, victims must show the bitcoin "belongs to" them, a proprietary interest. A claim as an unpaid creditor is not enough.
Thousands of investors have applied: the court's March 2026 order lists Mr Li Pengfei "and 2,593 other applicants" under section 281.
At $83,346 per bitcoin (Coinbase close, October 13), 61,000 BTC are worth about $5.08 billion, more than ten times their value when police seized them in 2018.
Victims' lawyers are appealing, according to the Financial Times. The content of Chinese law will be argued at a later hearing.

What the court decided

The case is a civil recovery action brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions against Qian and her associate Jian Wen (DPP v Zhimin Qian and another, High Court, King's Bench Division). Investors in Qian's Chinese scheme applied under section 281 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for declarations that the seized property belongs to them.

The October ruling dealt with a preliminary question: which country's law decides that? Victims' lawyers argued for English law, or a mix of English and Chinese law. Prosecutors argued for Chinese law. The judge sided with the prosecution. According to the Duan & Duan summary:

the investments, the losses and the conversion of the money into bitcoin all took place in China, so Chinese law applies;
English law only governs the procedure under the Proceeds of Crime Act;
tracing the money into the bitcoin in England cannot restore property rights that investors may have lost under Chinese law;
no evidence of Chinese law has been heard yet: the question was decided on assumed facts.

The full judgment had not been published on the judiciary's website when we checked on October 14.

How the fraud became Britain's biggest bitcoin seizure

Date	Event
2014–2017	Qian runs a fraudulent investment scheme through Tianjin Lantian Gerui in China; more than 128,000 investors put in the equivalent of about £4.6 billion
From June 2014	Investor money is converted into bitcoin through a Huobi exchange account
Jul–Sep 2017	Qian leaves China and arrives in the UK under a false name
Oct–Nov 2018	Police searches in London; the laptop holding the bitcoin is seized (71,417 BTC in her possession at that point)
April 2024	Qian is arrested
Nov 11, 2025	Sentenced to 11 years and 8 months for money laundering offences
Mar 10, 2026	High Court order in the civil recovery case lists 2,594 section 281 applicants
Oct 12, 2026	Ruling: Chinese law governs victims' property claims

Sources: sentencing remarks, Southwark Crown Court, November 11, 2025; High Court order, March 10, 2026; Duan & Duan. Timeline compiled by BullishStation.

The sentencing remarks show how the value exploded: the bitcoin was worth about £305 million when Qian arrived in the UK, more than £384 million when it was seized, and more than £1.5 billion by the time recovery was completed. Today it is worth about £3.8 billion.

Who holds the most seized bitcoin

Government	Estimated holdings	Value at $83,346
United States	328,372 BTC	$27.4 billion
China	190,000 BTC	$15.8 billion
United Kingdom	61,245 BTC	$5.1 billion

Holdings: on-chain estimates by Arkham and Bitcoin Treasuries, as reported by The Block on October 13, 2026; governments do not publish audited figures. Values calculated by BullishStation at the Coinbase closing price of October 13, 2026.

Why it matters for markets

61,000 BTC is about 0.3% of all bitcoin in circulation and more than four months of new supply at today's issuance of about 450 BTC a day (see our Bitcoin halving guide). What the UK does with it matters:

If the government keeps the coins, it must decide whether to sell them or hold them. Large government sales have weighed on sentiment before; the US, by contrast, directed forfeited bitcoin to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March 2025.
If victims win, the coins, or their cash value, would go back to Chinese investors, possibly through a compensation process.
Either way, the outcome sets a precedent for how English courts treat cross-border crypto fraud, a growing issue as more stolen funds are traced on-chain (see our coverage of the Ledger CryptoBilis attack and the US move to seize Iranian crypto).

What to watch next

The appeal announced by Fieldfisher, the lead firm for individual claimants.
Publication of the full judgment, and the later hearing on what Chinese law actually says about investors' rights.
Any decision by the UK government on whether to sell or hold the bitcoin, and movements of the government's wallets on-chain.

FAQ

Who owns the 61,000 seized bitcoin?

That is not decided yet. The court ruled that Chinese law will decide whether victims have ownership rights. If they do not, the UK government is likely to keep most of the coins.

Why does Chinese law matter?

Because the fraud, the investments and the purchases of bitcoin took place in China. Victims must show they own the bitcoin under Chinese law, not just that they are owed money.