UK Court Says Chinese Law Governs Claims to Seized Bitcoin
The UK High Court issued an interim ruling that Chinese law will decide ownership claims over 61,000 seized Bitcoins from about 16,000 Chinese nationals. The underlying case involves an alleged Ponzi scheme run by Qian Zhimin, also known as Yadi Zhang, through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, which prosecutors say raised roughly 40.23 billion yuan. The court did not settle whether the claimants own the assets, and the outcome could limit their recovery to principal and interest rather than direct tracing.
The UK High Court’s interim ruling concerns ownership claims to 61,000 seized Bitcoins. Judge Turner said Chinese law should decide whether roughly 16,000 Chinese investors hold rights in the assets, without resolving that question. The underlying alleged scheme ran from 2014 to 2017 through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, led by Qian Zhimin, also called Yadi Zhang.
Court records described 128,409 contracts and about 40.23 billion yuan raised, with 34.1 billion yuan paid out. Prosecutors called it a Ponzi scheme. Funds allegedly bought over 100,000 BTC via a Huobi account. British raids in late 2018 linked to Qian and Jian Wen yielded devices and private keys, leading to the seizure.
This ruling may affect roughly 16,000 Chinese investors seeking recovery, as their claims could be assessed under Chinese law rather than English property principles. If direct tracing is unavailable, they may recover only principal and interest, potentially reducing expected compensation. It could also shape how cross-border crypto seizures and investor claims are handled, though the court has not decided ownership.