CONFIRMED: The High Court in London handed down this judgment, Director of Public Prosecutions v Qian [2026] EWHC 2509 (KB), on 12 October 2026. It is a preliminary ruling on which country’s law applies. It does not decide who keeps the bitcoin.
A High Court judge in London has ruled that Chinese law, not English law, will decide whether fraud victims in China have property rights in a huge store of bitcoin seized by British police [1].
The coins were seized in the case of Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang. The judgment says: “The Property includes more than 61,000 Bitcoin” [1].
CoinDesk REPORTED, citing the Financial Times, that the coins are worth about “3.8 billion pounds ($5 billion)” [2]. That is CoinDesk’s figure; the judgment itself speaks of proceeds of crime worth “several billion pounds sterling” [1].
What the court actually decided (CONFIRMED)
The UK’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is trying to recover the assets through civil recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. People who say they were victims of the fraud have applied under section 281 of that Act, each arguing that he or she has “a proprietary interest in the Bitcoin” [1].
Section 281 lets someone who says they own property caught up in a civil recovery case ask the court to declare that it is theirs, so it is not handed to the state.
The question at this stage was narrow. Mr Justice Turner said it was “limited to” whether the law of England, of China, or a mix of the two should later be used to decide the victims’ claims [1].
His answer was Chinese law. In paragraph 243 he wrote: “Whether Claims 1 and 2 are analysed under Rome I, Rome II, or by reference to the common law rules of private international law, the applicable law is Chinese law” [1].
Rome I and Rome II are rules, kept in UK law after Brexit, that decide which country’s law governs contract and non-contract disputes with links to more than one country.
Why China (CONFIRMED)
The judge pointed to where the harm happened. In paragraph 164 he wrote that “the relevant damage occurred in China. The Applicants parted with their money in China. The alleged fraudulent representations were made in China” [1].
The fraud was run through a Chinese company, Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, which the judgment says Qian set up in 2014 and controlled [1].
What happens next
The ruling leaves the hard questions open. In paragraph 246 the judge said any proprietary rights “must be assessed by reference to Chinese law. Any issues concerning the content, effect or proof of that law are matters for a later stage” [1]. He said he would hear lawyers on the exact form of the order [1].
REPORTED: Law firm Fieldfisher, which represents some of the victims, is appealing the ruling, according to the Financial Times as cited by Cointelegraph [3]. CoinDesk also REPORTED, citing the FT, that the victims’ lawyers are appealing [2].
REPORTED: The Crown Prosecution Service told the FT that a further hearing would examine how Chinese law applies and whether any victims can establish an interest in the seized assets, Cointelegraph said [3].
Why it matters
- Victims did not lose, but their route is narrower. They wanted English law, which they argued could give them rights to the coins themselves. Now they must show rights under Chinese law, which the court has not yet examined.
- The UK state’s position is stronger. CoinDesk REPORTED that the ruling improves the UK government’s chances of keeping most of the bitcoin [2]. That is CoinDesk’s reading, not a finding of the court.
- Nothing is final. No one has yet been awarded the coins, and an appeal is REPORTED to be under way.
Sources
- High Court of England and Wales, Director of Public Prosecutions v Zhimin Qian and Jian Wen, [2026] EWHC 2509 (KB), Mr Justice Turner, judgment dated 12 October 2026. https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026/2509
- CoinDesk, “UK court ruling boosts government’s chances of keeping $5 billion in seized bitcoin”, 13 October 2026 (citing the Financial Times). https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/13/u-k-court-ruling-boosts-government-s-chances-of-keeping-gbp3-8-billion-seized-bitcoin
- Cointelegraph, “UK Court Rules Chinese Law Applies to 61K Bitcoin Claims”, 13 October 2026 (citing the Financial Times). https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-court-chinese-law-61k-bitcoin-fraud-victims
