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Chinese investors seeking rights in 61,000 Bitcoin recovered in the Zhimin Qian fraud case have lost a preliminary legal argument: on 12 October 2026, the High Court held that Chinese law—not English law—governs whether they have proprietary rights in the coins. English law still governs the statutory process for making claims in the UK. The ruling does not decide whether any individual investor owns any Bitcoin or how much anyone will recover.
What the High Court decided
The case, Director of Public Prosecutions v Qian and others, concerns cryptoassets held in England and civil recovery proceedings brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Investors have applied under section 281 of that Act, which lets a person who claims that recovered property belongs to them ask the court for a declaration. The ruling reported on 12 October 2026 addressed which law governs the substance of those ownership claims. Duan & Duan UK’s case summary reports that the judge selected Chinese law under Rome I, Rome II and common-law conflict rules, while English law governs the Part 5 court process.
That is a choice-of-law decision, not a final decision on ownership. The court had not yet heard evidence about the content of Chinese law, so the ruling does not establish what rights a particular applicant has under that law. Nor does it order compensation, distribute Bitcoin or set a recovery amount.
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Why the distinction matters to investors
The location of the recovered coins and the law that determines who has a right to them are separate questions. The Bitcoin are held in England and are subject to the UK statutory recovery process, but the court concluded that Chinese law governs the substantive question of whether the investors retained proprietary rights. The reported reasoning treats the investments and their conversion into Bitcoin as centered in China. The case summary describes the applicants’ English-law and hybrid arguments, including an argument that setting aside fraud-induced investment contracts could create a constructive trust and permit tracing into the Bitcoin; the judge did not accept those arguments as a basis for applying English law to the substantive rights question.
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| Question | Law or process identified by the ruling | What remains unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Do investors have proprietary rights in the Bitcoin? | Chinese law governs this substantive question. | The rights of individual applicants have not been determined; evidence of Chinese law had not yet been heard. |
| How can someone assert a claim to recovered property? | English law governs the Part 5 statutory process, including applications under section 281. | The ruling does not decide whether a particular application meets the statutory test. |
| Will investors receive money or Bitcoin? | The choice-of-law ruling makes no award or distribution order. | Who, if anyone, establishes a right, and the amount or form of any recovery, remain undecided. |
A property claim is not the same as a debt claim
Section 281 is not a general compensation scheme for everyone who lost money in a fraud. An applicant must establish a proprietary interest in the property covered by the proceedings. A person who can show only that they paid money and are owed repayment may have a personal claim against someone, but that alone is not the same as showing that the recovered Bitcoin belongs to them. The reported account of the ruling explains this distinction.
As a result, the court’s decision that Chinese law applies determines the legal framework for the ownership question; it does not answer that question. Applicants will still need to establish the relevant rights under Chinese law and satisfy the requirements of the English statutory process. The ruling does not say how many applicants will succeed.
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Background to the 61,000 Bitcoin
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says more than 128,000 people in China fell victim to the scheme, with losses of about £600 million. Qian’s schemes ran from 2014 to 2017, with most implemented in the name of Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology Co Limited. The CPS reported that about £20.2 million of illegally obtained money was converted to Bitcoin. Its case information and report on the money-laundering case describe the scale and background.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAuthorities recovered 61,000 Bitcoin. The CPS valued them at £300 million at the time of seizure; that is a historical valuation, not a statement of what the coins are worth now. Their value can change with the Bitcoin price, and the court’s choice-of-law ruling did not set a current valuation or establish that all or any part of the coins will go to investors. The CPS account reports the seizure-time figure.
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The criminal sentences are a separate case outcome
The criminal proceedings addressed the defendants’ conduct, not investors’ ownership rights in the civil recovery case. The CPS reports that Qian was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in November 2025 after pleading guilty to two offences; Seng Hok Ling received four years and 11 months. Jian Wen had earlier been sentenced to six years and eight months. Those sentences do not decide who owns the recovered Bitcoin. The CPS’s account of the criminal case gives the sentencing details. The Metropolitan Police says its investigation involved evidence and cooperation with Chinese law enforcement. Its account of the investigation provides that context.
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The ruling settles which law governs the substantive rights question; it does not complete the claims process. The court would still need to consider the applicants’ claimed interests under Chinese law and whether they meet the requirements for relief under the English statutory procedure. The ruling alone gives investors no assurance of payment, a share of the Bitcoin or a timetable for recovery. The CPS’s March 2026 High Court order identifies the proceedings as KB-2024-003157 and lists 2,594 other applicants in that procedural order, but that figure does not establish the total number of eventual claimants or predict their outcomes. The Judiciary’s published order concerns the proceedings before the October choice-of-law ruling.
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