By Hamza Faisal
Chinese prosecutors are moving to confiscate nearly 62,000 Bitcoin seized in the United Kingdom from convicted fraudster Qian Zhimin, setting up an international legal fight over one of the largest cryptocurrency hauls in history.
The application, accepted by the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on September 28 and published in a court notice on October 13, targets 61,896 BTC worth roughly $5.1 billion at current prices of around $82,000 per coin. The court has opened a six-month window for victims and other interested parties to join the confiscation proceedings.
A $5.7 billion fraud, frozen in London
Prosecutors say the assets trace back to an enormous investment fraud run by Qian through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology. Between April 2014 and August 2017, the company allegedly sold unlicensed wealth-management products across China, promising guaranteed principal repayments and unusually high returns — in some cases advertised as high as 300 percent.
The scheme raised more than 40.38 billion yuan, roughly $5.7 billion, from over 102,000 investors. Prosecutors say most of the money funded no genuine business at all; instead it repaid earlier investors, financed fictitious projects, and bought cryptocurrency, property, vehicles, jewelry, and luxury goods. Investors were left with losses totaling nearly 20 billion yuan.
Qian fled China in July 2017 carrying computers that held Bitcoin wallets, and eventually settled in the United Kingdom. British authorities later seized the assets — including the Bitcoin, plus Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV, XRP, Dogecoin, cash in dollars, euros, and pounds, jewelry, bank balances, and investment portfolios. Qian pleaded guilty to money laundering in Britain and is serving a prison sentence there.
Two courtrooms, one pile of Bitcoin
The seizure has become a tug-of-war between two legal systems. Chinese prosecutors argue the assets are proceeds of crime that should be recovered, returned to victims, and otherwise confiscated. Because Qian has been a wanted fugitive for more than a year, Chinese rules allow confiscation proceedings without the suspect present.
Meanwhile, British courts are deciding whether victims have enforceable ownership claims. On October 12, the UK High Court ruled that Chinese law — not English law — should govern alleged victims' claims to the seized Bitcoin. The ruling does not end the dispute: lawyers for some victims are seeking to appeal, and further hearings are expected to determine whether victims hold property claims under Chinese law.
Beyond the Bitcoin, the Chinese confiscation application seeks about 72,746 units each of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, and Bitcoin SV, around 3.6 million XRP, and some 70 million Dogecoin — the last of which UK authorities have already converted into cash held in an interest-bearing account.
What happens next
The Tianjin court's six-month notice period gives affected investors time to participate in the proceedings, though those who stay out remain eligible for compensation from any recovered assets. Neither country has secured a final legal victory over the fortune.
The case lands as governments worldwide race to figure out who owns seized crypto — and whether victims or state coffers get it first. At more than $5 billion, the Qian haul is one of the largest Bitcoin seizures ever made, and its fate will set a precedent for cross-border crypto asset recovery.
By Hamza Faisal
