bitcoinseizure

A significant UK court ruling has paved the way for the government to retain five billion dollars worth of seized Bitcoin, setting a major precedent for digital asset forfeiture.

#UKLegal #BitcoinSeizure ‎

A London high court ruled that Chinese law applies to the claims of thousands of fraud victims over 61,000 bitcoin seized by the Metropolitan Police, worth about £3.8 billion or $5 billion. The decision came in the case of Zhimin Qian, who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 128,000 investors between 2014 and 2017, converted the proceeds into bitcoin and fled to the UK in 2017. While the ruling does not decide who ultimately keeps the cryptocurrency, it limits the victims’ ability to pursue recovery under English law and makes it more likely the British government will retain most of the seized assets. The victims’ lawyers are appealing the judgment. Separately, the article notes that the United States has placed seized bitcoin in a strategic reserve, with government‑linked addresses holding roughly $25.8 billion in crypto according to Arkham Intelligence.

#UKCourt #BitcoinSeizure #CryptoLaw

$BTC

UK authorities froze a $12 million London penthouse linked to Thet Li, who allegedly managed finances for a scam empire tied to $14 billion in seized Bitcoin.

#BitcoinSeizure #CryptoCrime ‎