Chinese court seeks forfeiture of $5.1 billion bitcoin seized from Qian Zhimin in UK

A court in Tianjin has launched proceedings to confiscate 61,896 bitcoin worth approximately $5.1 billion, originally seized by British authorities from convicted fraudster Qian Zhimin. This action opens a new legal front over the fate of coins currently frozen in the United Kingdom. On September 28, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court accepted an application from the Tianjin People’s Procuratorate Second Branch to forfeit Qian’s illicit gains. According to a notice published on October 13, this includes around 61,896 bitcoin, valued at about $82,200 each, based on CoinGecko data. The property potentially subject to forfeiture extends beyond bitcoin.