UK Moves Closer to Keeping $5B Bitcoin Haul After High Court Ruling
Summary
A UK High Court judge ruled that Chinese law governs victims’ claims to 61,000 BTC seized from convicted fraudster Zhimin Qian. The decision favors the government’s effort to retain the bitcoin, worth about $5 billion, but does not determine ownership. Victims must establish a proprietary interest under Chinese law; prosecutors say a later hearing will address whether they can do so. The claimants’ law firm is appealing. Qian was jailed for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors in China between 2014 and 2017.
