A UK High Court ruling has placed claims to more than 61,000 seized Bitcoin under Chinese law, raising fresh questions for Bitcoin fraud victims seeking gains. The October 12 decision leaves their ownership rights and potential payouts unresolved.
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Around 16,000 Chinese investors have become part of the recovery action, as per Caixin. This is due to the investors wanting a piece of the cryptocurrency in connection with the investment scam in Tianjin Lantian Gerui. The judgment might confine their claims to principal and interest only and not the increase in value of Bitcoin after that.
Justice Turner made the decision on which nation’s laws would govern the ownership of Bitcoin but not the amount the investors might be awarded. The Bitcoin fraud will go ahead in the English courts, which have not yet considered Chinese laws.
Why Did the UK Court Apply Chinese Law to Bitcoin Fraud Claims?
The October 12 ruling in Director of Public Prosecutions v. Qian pertained to civil recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. On the one hand, the prosecution wanted Chinese law; on the other hand, the investors wanted English law or an application of both legal systems.
The judge declined to adopt any of the methods suggested by the investors in order to bring English substantive law into play. Bitcoin fraud happened in China, where the investments were made. It is irrelevant that the proceeds were converted into Bitcoin and held in England subsequently.
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English law will regulate the procedure for recovery in court. Yet, it is necessary to determine the ownership of certain parts of the confiscated property according to the laws of China. This question was referred to the next hearing.
Why Could Victims Lose Bitcoin’s Price Gains?
In terms of Section 281, the applicants must demonstrate a legitimate claim of ownership over the subject property. The mere fact of the fraudster owing money to the applicants does not imply ownership of the confiscated Bitcoins.
The investors maintained that through fraud they had an opportunity to rescind their contracts and find their money paid into Bitcoin. The court stated that the applicability of Chinese law determines whether such actions led to the creation of the property rights.
According to Caixin, it is possible that under Chinese law, the compensation would be limited only to the original amount of the investment and interest. In this way, it would be difficult to recover some part of appreciation if the claimants are unable to prove their ownership of the cryptocurrency.
Jackson Ng, a partner at Duan & Duan UK, said that his company is reviewing the decision in cooperation with its clients. He emphasized that the court answered the legal question in the preliminary hearing.
Who Was Behind the Investment Scheme?
The Bitcoin fraud originates from scams conducted between 2014 and 2017 by Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology. The prosecution in the UK says that the operation impacted more than 128,000 people in China. Investors lost their savings and pensions because of that.
Zhimin Qian, whose alias is Yadi Zhang, was jailed for 11 years and eight months in November 2025. She confessed to offenses of money laundering and handling of stolen cryptocurrencies. The accomplice of Qian, Senghok Ling, also got imprisoned.
British police confiscated more than 60,000 Bitcoin from the scam investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service called it the biggest confiscation of cryptocurrencies in the UK. The reports estimated the value of those assets above $6 billion in November 2025; however, this historical assessment is not a proven payout pool.
Police initially confiscated devices and cryptocurrency keys in London in 2018. Further steps were taken after Qian’s arrest in April 2024. The Bitcoin fraud assets are currently facing separate civil proceedings on recovery and ownership.
How Do Other Crypto Recovery Cases Work?
The UK authorities have the power to place assets held in suspicious crypto accounts on freeze pending forfeiture determination. In August 2026, Avon and Somerset Police recovered 20.21 Bitcoin and other property worth roughly £1.03 million in another case of money laundering.
In the US, the Department of Justice utilizes remission whereby forfeited funds are restored back to eligible claimants. It is based on actual losses and the net amount available. In March, the prosecution announced a remitted fund of $470,735 for two victims of a crypto investment scam in Maine.
Both cases do not determine the result of the Bitcoin fraud case in the UK. The next step would be to identify the claimants’ rights according to Chinese laws.
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