A UK High Court has ruled that Chinese law will govern ownership rights for more than 61,000 Bitcoin worth approximately £3.8 billion involved in a Chinese investment fraud case, according to reports from Financial Times. The October 12 judgment from Mr Justice Mark Turner of the London High Court places claims from approximately 16,000 victims under Chinese legal framework, potentially limiting their recovery to principal and interest rather than Bitcoin's appreciation. The disputed cryptocurrency is connected to the illegal fundraising operation run through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, also known as Tianjin Blue Sky Ge Rui. The ruling does not finally decide who keeps the bitcoin but narrows victims' route to recovering it and improves the chances of the UK Treasury eventually retaining the seized assets.
The High Court's decision concerns which country's law governs investors' asserted ownership rights under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. As reported by Duan & Duan UK LLP, the Director of Public Prosecutions brought civil recovery proceedings under Part 5, with investors applying under Section 281 to seek declarations of ownership. The court rejected investors' attempts to establish English law as the governing law through several alternative legal arguments, while treating investments and conversion of money into Bitcoin as transactions centred in China. Judge Mark Turner emphasized that 'The relevant damage occurred in China. The applicants parted with their money in China. The alleged fraudulent representations were made in China,' with contractual relationships and immediate economic consequences also suffered in China. English law will still provide the procedural framework for hearing claims, with the court deferring detailed legal questions on Chinese law and individual claims to later proceedings.
According to court records, the scheme raised approximately 40.2 billion yuan (£4.1 billion) between 2014 and 2017, with roughly 34.1 billion yuan paid back to investors. This leaves about 6.1 billion yuan unreturned, or roughly £600 million at the judgment's exchange rate. At a live Bitcoin price near $83,143, the seized coins are worth approximately $5.1 billion. Qian Zhimin received an 11-year and eight-month prison sentence at Southwark Crown Court on November 11, 2025, for the fraud affecting more than 128,000 people between 2014 and 2017. The fraud involved investment products promising returns of up to 300%, with many investors aged between 50 and 75 committing amounts ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of yuan. The November valuation of seized Bitcoin was reported at more than $6 billion at the time, though this represents a separate amount from victims' original investments and potential recovery amounts.
The court has left questions about the content, effect and proof of Chinese law for later proceedings, as reported by Caixin. Duan & Duan UK LLP partner Jackson Ng confirmed the firm is reviewing the decision with clients and will continue pursuing their claims. The ruling affects UK recovery powers, with recent police seizures including 20.21 Bitcoin valued at £1,032,487.86 by Avon and Somerset Police. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, each victim must prove the coins are their property, and being owed money as a creditor is not sufficient. Coins that no victim proves to own can be taken by the state through civil recovery, meaning that if victims rank only as creditors, most of the coins' value could stay with UK authorities. The victims' lawyers are appealing the High Court's decision, according to Financial Times, while the Crown Prosecution Service says a further hearing will determine whether any victims can establish an interest in the bitcoin. Fieldfisher, which represents claimants, is pursuing an appeal against the ruling.
