Chinese court seeks forfeiture of $5.1 billion bitcoin seized from Qian Zhimin in UK

A court in Tianjin has launched proceedings to confiscate 61,896 bitcoin worth approximately $5.1 billion, originally seized by British authorities from convicted fraudster Qian Zhimin. This action opens a new legal front over the fate of coins currently frozen in the United Kingdom.

Court action and details of seized assets

On September 28, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court accepted an application from the Tianjin People’s Procuratorate Second Branch to forfeit Qian’s illicit gains. According to a notice published on October 13, this includes around 61,896 bitcoin, valued at about $82,200 each, based on CoinGecko data.

The property potentially subject to forfeiture extends beyond bitcoin. Prosecutors are also seeking to recover 72,700 bitcoin cash, roughly 3.6 million XRP, bitcoin SV, bitcoin gold, and proceeds from the sale of about 70 million dogecoin already liquidated by UK authorities. Additional assets include cash in US dollars, euros, pounds, jewelry, various bank deposits, and investment products, all seized by UK police.

Prosecutors argued that Qian evaded capture after more than a year on a wanted list. They claimed that her seized property represented the proceeds of crime that should be forfeited, except for amounts already returned to victims.

Prosecutors maintained that Qian’s flight from authorities and the nature of her assets justify full forfeiture, apart from funds already reimbursed to affected investors.

Background of the Qian Zhimin case

Court documents describe Qian as the actual controller of Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, a company promoting fraudulent wealth management products from April 2014 to August 2017. Investors were promised guaranteed principal and high returns, but the scheme collapsed, resulting in approximately 40.4 billion yuan raised from over 102,000 investors and losses nearing 20 billion yuan.

Qian reportedly left China in July 2017 with a laptop containing her bitcoin wallet and traveled to the United Kingdom. Police in Britain arrested her in April 2024, and a London court later sentenced her to 11 years and eight months in prison in November 2025.

The court’s recent notice opens a six-month period for Qian’s relatives and interested parties to register claims. Victims can join the case through a WeChat mini program. Those who do not register are still eligible to receive compensation from any recovered assets, according to Yicai Global.

Mini dictionary: Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology – This company operated in China and was used by Qian Zhimin to run a large-scale pyramid scheme, defrauding tens of thousands of investors through fake investment products, according to court findings.

Ongoing legal uncertainty and victim recovery

A British High Court judge has determined that Chinese law will govern whether victims have substantive rights to the frozen digital assets. The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that further hearings are planned to assess claims from victims alleging losses in the scheme.

Fieldfisher, a law firm representing some of the investors, announced it is preparing to appeal the court’s ruling on which country’s law should decide the ownership of the seized bitcoin.

The case highlights the growing legal complexities surrounding cross-border cryptocurrency crime and asset confiscation, particularly when multiple jurisdictions and thousands of victims are involved.