130,000 Chinese Victims of $6 Billion Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Face Years of Legal Battle in UK Over $7 Billion Seized Crypto

Chinese Investors Face Long Legal Battle Over $7 Billion Bitcoin Seizure

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese investors who lost money in a massive Bitcoin Ponzi scheme are now confronting a complex legal struggle to recover their funds, as linking their claims to 61,000 bitcoins seized by U.K. authorities proves difficult.

The seized coins, recovered during a 2018 raid by the London Metropolitan Police in Hampstead, are now valued at over $7.4 billion, marking the largest cryptocurrency confiscation in U.K. history.

Who Is Behind the Scheme and How It Unfolded

The case centres on Qian Zhimin, also known as Zhang Yadi, a 47-year-old Chinese businesswoman accused of orchestrating a $6 billion fraud through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology.

Between 2014 and 2017, she sold wealth management products promising high returns to retail investors across China, raising over 43 billion yuan.

Qian fled to the United Kingdom in 2017, allegedly to escape a crackdown on crypto entrepreneurs, and later converted the funds into cryptocurrencies with the help of her associate Wen Jian, who was convicted earlier this year and sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.

Qian pleaded guilty in a London court at the end of September to two counts of money laundering involving cryptocurrencies.

Her associate Hok Seng Ling also pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property and is due for sentencing alongside Qian on 10–11 November.

Why Recovering Investor Funds Is So Challenging

Lawyers representing Chinese victims say tracing the seized bitcoins back to individual investors is highly complex.

Jack Ding, assistant managing partner at Beijing-based Duan & Duan, which represents roughly 10,000 victims, explained:

“Some materials lack sufficient information to establish a clear connection.”

He added,

“It remains challenging to demonstrate that funds transferred from one victim to another bank account were, in fact, under the control of Tianjin Lantian Gerui, and tracing such funds to bitcoin held by U.K. authorities has proven not very easy.”

A civil recovery case under U.K. law was filed in September 2024 and is expected to be heard in January 2026.

Chinese victims, estimated at 130,000, are primarily small investors, many with limited computer skills or formal education, which complicates communication and documentation.

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Will Victims Recover the Bitcoin or Just Their Original Investment?

Legal experts caution that even if investors succeed in proving a connection, recovering the appreciated value of Bitcoin is unlikely.

Yang Yuhua of Thornhill Legal, also involved in the case, noted Qian’s guilty plea “indirectly validates the fraud allegations in China,” but added that restitution will likely focus on principal and reasonable interest rather than speculative gains.

Ding pointed out that “regardless of the ultimate outcome, I am confident that both governments will arrive at an amicable resolution,” but stressed that any agreement will depend on the conclusion of U.K. judicial proceedings.

The value of the original investments is estimated at around £640 million, a fraction of the current value of the seized bitcoins.

Chinese officials estimate that victims range from experienced investors to those completely unfamiliar with digital finance, further complicating claims.

Cross-Border Cooperation Highlights Complexities of Crypto Fraud

The case is seen as a landmark example of cross-border cooperation between Chinese and U.K. authorities.

Yet the final decision on how to distribute the confiscated Bitcoin rests with the British High Court.

The legal intricacies are compounded by China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading, meaning any liquidation would require licensed intermediaries and could take years while attempting to preserve value.

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Ding also noted,

“Effective communications are challenging, as a significant portion of this group has not received formal education.”

The combination of international jurisdiction, complex cryptocurrency tracing, and investor diversity makes this one of the most complicated restitution cases in crypto history.

Rising Threats Add Pressure to Crypto Victims

Adding to investor worries, global incidents targeting Bitcoin holders have surged.

Data tracked by CASA co-founder Jameson Lopp show 35 violent incidents since late February, a 169% increase in just six and a half months, highlighting the rising risks faced by cryptocurrency investors even as markets continue to grow.

Qian’s sentencing and the resolution of her associates’ cases will be key milestones in a saga that has already spanned more than a decade, illustrating both the allure and dangers of high-return crypto schemes.