UK Court Rules Chinese Law Governs Claims Over $5B in Bitcoin

A UK High Court judge has ruled that Chinese law governs civil claims related to the ownership of over 61,000 BTC, valued at over $5 billion, seized from a purported fraud scheme.

The ruling, made by Judge James Brightwell, determines the applicable legal framework but does not decide who owns the massive Bitcoin cache. The assets were seized by the Metropolitan Police from Jian Wen, who was convicted of money laundering but found not guilty of fraud. The claimants, a group of alleged victims of a purported investment fraud, are seeking to establish their ownership rights.

Judge Brightwell concluded that the alleged fraud, which involved a purported crypto mining operation, was centered in China. Therefore, Chinese law, not English law, will apply to the civil claims over the seized assets.

The case now moves forward under this new legal parameter, as the parties contest whether the claimants’ investment money was indeed converted into the seized Bitcoin. The eventual outcome will have significant implications for the multi-billion-dollar haul.