China · Bitcoin · Myanmar · The Block
The bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was bought using proceeds from the fraud before Qian fled China for Myanmar in July 2017
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Some was purchased through a Huobi (now HTX) trading account, while other purchases took place through over-the-counter transactions in China.
Key facts
- The UK government holds an estimated 61,245 BTC ($5.1 billion) in total, according to wallet addresses labeled by onchain analytics platform Arkham
- As victims may struggle to establish ownership of the assets under Chinese law, the Financial Times reported that the ruling could improve the UK government's chances of retaining much of the seized
- The case concerns investors who lost money in Ponzi schemes run by Zhimin Qian in China between 2014 and 2017
- The dispute forms part of civil recovery proceedings brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, with investors seeking declarations under Section 281 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Summary
A UK High Court judge has ruled that Chinese law must be used to decide whether victims of a multibillion-dollar investment fraud have rights to more than 61,000 BTC seized by London's Metropolitan Police. Mr Justice Mark Turner handed down the judgment on Monday. The bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was bought using proceeds from the fraud before Qian fled China for Myanmar in July 2017. Qian later moved to London, where police seized devices used to access the bitcoin during searches in October and November 2018. The dispute forms part of civil recovery proceedings brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions, with investors seeking declarations under Section 281 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 that the seized property "belongs to" them.