A London High Court decision has strengthened the U.K. government’s position in its effort to retain most of the 3.8 billion pounds ($5 billion) worth of seized bitcoin. The judge ruled that thousands of Chinese fraud victims cannot use English law to establish ownership claims over the cryptocurrency.
The dispute centers on 61,000 BTC confiscated by the Metropolitan Police as part of its investigation into Zhimin Qian, who pleaded guilty to defrauding thousands of investors in China.
From 2014 to 2017, Qian operated a Ponzi scheme through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, her company, deceiving more than 128,000 investors. She converted the proceeds into bitcoin and escaped to the U.K. in 2017.
The victims sought to have their claims assessed under English law, arguing that it could help them secure property rights over the seized digital assets. However, High Court judge Mark Turner ruled on Monday that Chinese law should apply because the alleged fraud and its financial consequences occurred in China.
“The relevant damage occurred in China. The applicants parted with their money in China. The alleged fraudulent representations were made in China,” Turner said. He noted that the agreements resulting from the alleged deception were also entered into in China and that the immediate economic losses were suffered there.
Although the ruling does not determine the ultimate ownership of the bitcoin, it makes recovery more difficult for the victims and improves the U.K. Treasury’s chances of retaining the funds.
The victims’ legal team is appealing the judgment, the Financial Times reported. The Crown Prosecution Service said a subsequent hearing would consider whether any claimants can establish a legal interest in the seized cryptocurrency.
In the United States, confiscated digital assets have already become part of a broader government reserve policy. The country created a strategic bitcoin reserve in March 2025, incorporating BTC and other cryptocurrencies seized through law enforcement proceedings. The reserve does not involve buying tokens with taxpayer money. Arkham Intelligence estimates that wallets linked to the U.S. government hold around $25.8 billion in cryptocurrencies.
