bitcoinseizure

Two governments are now fighting over 61,800 bitcoin — and neither has moved a single coin.

Chinese prosecutors want to confiscate the stash tied to Qian Zhimin's fraud. From 2014 to 2017, her company sold unlicensed investment products, raising 40.378 billion yuan from 102,000+ investors, with losses near 20 billion yuan. On October 13, a Tianjin court accepted the confiscation request, opening a six-month window for victims to join.

Earlier, the UK High Court ruled that Chinese law — not English law — governs victims' claims to the same coins seized in Britain. Worth billions: under English law, victims could claim the BTC itself with all its appreciation; Chinese law caps recovery near principal plus interest. About 16,000 victims can now appeal.

Why it matters: the stash is worth over $5 billion today. But stay honest: this is procedural, not a sale. No coins move today, and the Chinese order doesn't override the UK process.

So when 61,800 BTC eventually unlocks, which risk worries you more — Beijing liquidating, or London keeping it as a sovereign chest? NFA, DYOR.

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A significant UK court ruling has paved the way for the government to retain five billion dollars worth of seized Bitcoin, setting a major precedent for digital asset forfeiture.

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A London high court ruled that Chinese law applies to the claims of thousands of fraud victims over 61,000 bitcoin seized by the Metropolitan Police, worth about £3.8 billion or $5 billion. The decision came in the case of Zhimin Qian, who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 128,000 investors between 2014 and 2017, converted the proceeds into bitcoin and fled to the UK in 2017. While the ruling does not decide who ultimately keeps the cryptocurrency, it limits the victims’ ability to pursue recovery under English law and makes it more likely the British government will retain most of the seized assets. The victims’ lawyers are appealing the judgment. Separately, the article notes that the United States has placed seized bitcoin in a strategic reserve, with government‑linked addresses holding roughly $25.8 billion in crypto according to Arkham Intelligence.

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$BTC

UK authorities froze a $12 million London penthouse linked to Thet Li, who allegedly managed finances for a scam empire tied to $14 billion in seized Bitcoin.

#BitcoinSeizure #CryptoCrime ‎