Chinese prosecutors are seeking confiscation of 61,896 Bitcoin held by British authorities in the Qian fraud case. Parallel proceedings in Tianjin and London put victim repayment and ownership rights at the centre of a dispute over assets Decrypt valued at about $5.1 billion.
Tianjin application targets assets held in Britain
Chinese prosecutors have asked a Tianjin court to confiscate Bitcoin seized in Britain from Zhimin Qian, opening a Chinese recovery process alongside litigation in London. According to Decrypt, the application covers 61,896 BTC and other assets that prosecutors describe as criminal proceeds. The requested treatment includes returning recovered property to victims and confiscating assets otherwise subject to recovery.
Decrypt reported that the court accepted the application on September 28 and issued its notice on October 13. A six-month notice period must pass before the hearing. Acceptance puts the application before the court, but it is not a final confiscation decision or a resolution of the competing claims in Britain.
Prosecutors trace the holdings to investment fraud
According to Decrypt, prosecutors allege that the wealth-management operation sold investment products without a license and promised returns. Decrypt reported that the alleged scheme operated between April 2014 and August 2017, raising more than 40.38 billion yuan. Prosecutors put losses suffered by more than 102,000 investors at about 19.98 billion yuan.
CoinDesk adds detail about the alleged movement of investor money. Its account says funds went toward repayments to earlier investors, sham investment projects, Bitcoin purchases and assets including property and jewelry, rather than genuine business activity. That account helps explain why the recovery effort extends beyond cryptocurrency to conventional financial and physical property.
According to Decrypt, Qian left China in July 2017 carrying computers containing Bitcoin wallets and subsequently reached Britain. Qian later pleaded guilty in the UK to acquiring and possessing criminal property and received a sentence of 11 years and eight months in November 2025. Those criminal proceedings are distinct from determining who ultimately receives the seized assets.
The recovery request extends beyond Bitcoin
Decrypt valued the Bitcoin holdings at approximately $5.1 billion, using a Bitcoin price near $82,000 in its report. That valuation describes the seized holdings, not the amount investors lost or an agreed compensation fund. Keeping those categories separate matters because the proceedings concern both recovery of criminal proceeds and the legal basis for victim claims.
The application also reaches other cryptocurrencies and non-crypto assets, according to Decrypt. The outlet reported that UK authorities had already converted the additional cryptocurrency holdings and placed the proceeds in an interest-bearing account. Its account therefore distinguishes the Bitcoin at the centre of the ownership dispute from other token holdings already converted.
- The Bitcoin holding totals 61,896 BTC, according to Decrypt.
- The additional token amounts include about 72,746 units apiece of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin SV.
- Decrypt also lists around 3.6 million XRP and some 70 million Dogecoin.
- The application includes cash denominated in dollars, euros and pounds, alongside jewelry, bank balances and investment portfolios.
London ruling selects the law, not the owner
The central distinction in the London proceedings is between deciding which country's law applies and deciding whether a claimant owns the Bitcoin. Decrypt reported that the High Court selected Chinese law on October 12. CoinDesk likewise describes the ruling as requiring victims' property claims to be assessed under Chinese law, rather than English law.
Decrypt cited lawyer David Phillips explaining that the ruling did not settle ownership because the court had not yet heard evidence about the relevant Chinese law. Showing that stolen money financed a cryptocurrency purchase does not necessarily establish a recoverable property right. Fieldfisher, which represents claimants, is seeking permission to appeal, according to Decrypt.
The distinction also separates a property claim from a repayment arrangement. Decrypt reported that UK prosecutors previously discussed a compensation scheme and subsequently said victims could receive compensation through a China-run redress process. That possible route does not itself answer whether individual victims own the UK-held coins.
Reports agree on restitution but use different precision
The Defiant's summary highlights the same core connection: the Tianjin application allows for victim restitution, while Chinese law governs ownership claims involving the British-held Bitcoin. It does not describe the procedural details reported by Decrypt. CoinDesk contributes the alleged uses of investor funds and explains that the UK ruling does not automatically foreclose recovery.
The outlets describe the Bitcoin quantity with different precision. Decrypt and The Defiant use 61,896 BTC, while CoinDesk reports more than 61,800 BTC. Similarly, CoinDesk's roughly $5.7 billion figure concerns the alleged fraud scheme, whereas Decrypt's approximately $5.1 billion concerns the Bitcoin's reported value. Those dollar amounts measure different things, rather than conflicting valuations of the same holding.
Participation and ownership remain separate issues to follow
Decrypt reported that victims can register for the Tianjin proceedings through a WeChat mini-program. Both Decrypt and CoinDesk say non-participation does not exclude victims from seeking repayment from recovered assets. The notice period therefore concerns participation in the proceedings, rather than an automatic loss of access to restitution.
The next issues are the Tianjin hearing, the attempted appeal in Britain and the assessment of ownership under Chinese law. For crypto holders and project teams, the case illustrates a distinction between control of wallets, state custody of seized assets and enforceable ownership rights. Which claims succeed, and how any repayment process interacts with them, remain unresolved.
Market snapshot
| Asset | Price | 24h | 7d | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $81,457 | -0.1% | -0.4% | $1.64 trillion |
| XRP (XRP) | $1.31 | -0.9% | -1.5% | $82.52 billion |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.079905 | +1.1% | -1.9% | $12.50 billion |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | $285 | +3.9% | +1.3% | $5.72 billion |
CoinGecko data as of 2026-10-23 (UTC).
FAQ
How much Bitcoin is involved in the Qian confiscation application?
Decrypt reports 61,896 BTC held by British authorities and valued the holding at about $5.1 billion. The application also covers other cryptocurrencies, cash, jewelry and financial assets.
Did the UK court decide that victims cannot recover the Bitcoin?
No. According to Decrypt and CoinDesk, the ruling selected Chinese law for assessing ownership claims without deciding those claims, and lawyers for claimants are seeking to appeal.
Must victims join the Tianjin proceedings to receive repayment?
According to Decrypt and CoinDesk, repayment from recovered assets remains available to victims even if they do not join the proceedings. That possibility is separate from establishing ownership of the Bitcoin in the British proceedings.
Sources
- Decrypt: Chinese Prosecutors Seek to Confiscate $5.1B in Bitcoin Seized by UK in Qian Case (2026-10-22)
- The Defiant: Chinese Prosecutors Seek Confiscation of 61,896 Bitcoin in Qian Case (2026-10-22)
- CoinDesk: China seeks to seize 61,800 BTC tied to $5.7 billion fraud scheme (2026-10-22)
- CoinGecko (market data)
Written by the Coinvote news desk from reporting by Decrypt, The Defiant and CoinDesk. Not financial advice.
