Chinese fraud victims lose key court battle over 61,000 Bitcoin seizure in UK

London’s High Court ruled that Chinese law, not English law, should govern claims by Chinese fraud victims seeking to recover 61,000 Bitcoin seized by the British government in a money-laundering investigation related to a fraud scheme orchestrated by Zhimin Qian between 2014 and 2017. Justice Mark Turner stated that Chinese law must determine the claimants' property rights because the relevant damage and contractual relationships occurred in China. The seized Bitcoin is currently worth more than $5 billion, and while victims plan to appeal the ruling, the next stage will involve expert evidence on Chinese law to establish ownership interests, not who ultimately owns the assets.