China Court Opens Forfeiture Proceedings for 61,896 Bitcoin

A court in Tianjin, China, has accepted prosecutors’ application to forfeit 61,896.41552945 Bitcoin (BTC) tied to the Qian Zhimin case, opening a six-month window for relatives and other interested parties to claim rights to the property. The Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court accepted the application Sept. 28 and published its notice Oct. 13. The requested assets include Bitcoin seized by British authorities, other cryptocurrencies, cash, jewelry and financial holdings. Prosecutors allege Qian controlled Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology Co., which raised money through unlicensed investment products from April 2014 to August 2017.