Chinese Victims Face Long Fight to Recover 61,000 BTC Seized by UK Government

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese investors who lost money in a massive Bitcoin Ponzi scheme could face years of legal challenges to recover their ￰0￱ Takeaways: Chinese investors defrauded in a $6B Bitcoin Ponzi scheme may face years of legal hurdles to recover their ￰1￱ UK seized 61,000 BTC linked to the case, but proving victims’ ownership remains a major ￰2￱ say victims are unlikely to recover Bitcoin’s appreciated value, as courts prioritize returning principal ￰3￱ long fight comes as lawyers struggle to prove a direct link between their claims and 61,000 bitcoins seized by British authorities, according to a report by Nikkie ￰4￱ Businesswoman Accused of $6B Crypto Fraud Fled to UK in 2017 The case centers on Qian Zhimin , also known as Zhang Yadi, a 47-year-old Chinese national who fled to the United Kingdom in 2017 after allegedly defrauding investors through her company, Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic ￰5￱ 2014 to 2017, she reportedly raised 43 billion yuan ($6 billion) by selling high-return investment products before converting the funds into crypto ￰6￱ pleaded guilty in a London court in late September to two counts of money laundering using ￰7￱ associate, Wen Jian, was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for helping move the ￰8￱ London Metropolitan Police later seized 61,000 BTC from Qian’s devices during a 2018 raid in Hampstead, now worth over $7.4 billion, making it the largest crypto seizure in U.

K. history. However, the UK government may retain much of the seized Bitcoin, a move that has alarmed victims’ lawyers in ￰9￱ IN: WORLD'S BIGGEST BITCOIN SEIZURE Chinese woman Zhimin Qian convicted in UK Authorities seized 61,000 BTC worth $6.7 BILLION Funds tied to a massive fraud that scammed 128,000 victims She held more Bitcoin than any corporate entity besides Saylor ￰10￱ — Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) September 30, 2025 Jack Ding, assistant managing partner at Duan & Duan, which represents around 10,000 victims, said linking investors’ money to the confiscated coins remains a major obstacle. “Some materials lack sufficient information to establish a clear connection,” he ￰11￱ experts warn that the complexity of tracing funds across multiple accounts and currencies makes restitution uncertain.

A civil recovery case under U. K. law, filed in September 2024, will determine how the assets are ￰12￱ case is scheduled for January ￰13￱ Yuhua of Thornhill Legal said Qian’s guilty plea “indirectly validates the fraud allegations in China,” but added that recovering the appreciated value of Bitcoin is ￰14￱ typically focus on returning the principal and reasonable interest rather than speculative gains. 130,000 Chinese Victims Struggle to Claim Bitcoin Losses The victims, estimated at 130,000 across China, include many small investors unfamiliar with digital finance, complicating coordination and ￰15￱ said effective communication has been difficult as many victims “have limited education and experience with computers.” Qian, who previously denied the charges, claimed she fled China to escape a crackdown on crypto ￰16￱ is scheduled for sentencing in November, alongside another associate, Hok Seng Ling, who also pleaded ￰17￱ reported, physical attacks targeting Bitcoin and crypto holders are rising at an alarming rate, according to new data tracked by CASA co-founder Jameson ￰18￱ late February, 35 new violent incidents have been reported globally, a 169% increase in just six and a half ￰19￱ uptick adds to an already troubling trend, as cryptocurrency markets continue their bullish run.