Chinese prosecutors have applied to confiscate 61,896 Bitcoin connected to an investment fraud case valued at 40.378 billion yuan ($5.7 billion). A court in Tianjin announced the request on October 13, opening a new stage in the effort to recover assets that were ultimately seized in Britain. Because the coins are held in the UK while the underlying fraud case sits in China, the outcome will turn on how two legal systems treat the same pool of assets. The figure cited by prosecutors represents the total amount involved in the scheme, while investor losses are estimated at nearly 20 billion yuan.

Tianjin Court Accepts Confiscation Application

The Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court said it accepted the prosecutors' application on September 28, 2026, according to a report by The Paper. The court's announcement followed about two weeks later. The filing names Qian Zhimin, who controlled Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, and seeks the recovery of Bitcoin along with other property. Accepting the application formally starts the asset-recovery phase in China; it does not by itself decide who receives the funds.

Authorities say the company collected money from more than 102,000 investors across China between 2014 and 2017. China is pursuing the case separately from a 500 million yuan crypto laundering investigation in Thailand, where police arrested a Chinese suspect earlier this month.

How Investors Lost Nearly 20 Billion Yuan

Prosecutors accuse Qian's company of offering unlicensed investment products while promising protected capital and high returns. The business collected funds from customers across China during its three years of operation. Investigators say investors lost more than 19.977 billion yuan, and that most of the money never funded real businesses.

Instead, prosecutors allege the proceeds covered payments to earlier customers, financed fabricated business projects, and paid for purchases of Bitcoin, homes, vehicles, and jewelry. Qian left China in 2017 and eventually reached the United Kingdom, where police seized assets during a money laundering investigation.

UK Ruling Sets Rules for Victim Claims

British authorities seized more than 61,800 BTC, along with Bitcoin Cash, XRP, Dogecoin, cash, and investments. On October 12, a UK High Court judge ruled that Chinese law should determine whether alleged victims hold property rights over the Bitcoin. The decision does not award the funds to either government, and lawyers representing some claimants are seeking to challenge it. That choice-of-law question sits at the center of the recovery effort, since the framework will decide who can assert ownership of the coins before any distribution.

The Tianjin court has given relatives, investors, and other interested parties six months to join the proceedings. People who do not join the case may still receive refunds from recovered property under Chinese law. Developments to follow include whether the UK challenge proceeds, how many claimants join within the six-month window, and how the Tianjin court rules on the confiscation application.

Separately, US officials have reported action against overseas crypto scams, including funds they say authorities have blocked. Crypto theft recovery claims also opened this week after the Qubic network restarted, although that case has no direct connection to Qian's assets.

Source: CoinCentral