Police in the UK now hold the country’s biggest crypto haul: 61.000 bitcoins worth about 6.8 billion dollars. The coins were stolen from more than 128 000 Chinese investors, and public and court debates focus on how to hand the money back without harming victim payouts or the Bitcoin market. A key worry is that a sudden sale could push the price down, reducing recoveries.
Court papers and news reports say the plot leader was Zhimin Qian, also called Yadi Zhang. From 2014 to 2017 she told investors they would earn up to 300 percent profit through her firm Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, turned the cash into Bitcoin, and then ran to the UK. In September 2025 she admitted guilt in a London court.
Two helpers, Jian Wen and Malaysian Seng Hok Ling, also received convictions for laundering the money. The Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and Chinese officials worked together on the case.
The huge pile of coins creates practical problems. Matching each victim to exact bitcoins is hard, many investors had little computer knowledge and kept no paperwork, and, as lawyer Jack Ding of Duan & Duan notes, “Some documents do not give enough detail to show a clear link.”
Repayment battle and market impact
The big legal fight is over the amount of repayment. Victims’ lawyers want the current high value of the bitcoins, while some legal experts say courts usually give back only the original sum and modest interest. UK officials are also thinking about keeping part of the money, an idea investors’ representatives reject.
If the state sells 61.000 bitcoins in a rush, the market could face a flood of supply and the price would drop, leaving victims with less. To return the money, officials must track coins through exchanges and wallets, a technical and legal job that may drag on until 2027.
A civil recovery hearing in January 2026 and sentencing in November 2025 will set the payout rules and will create a legal pattern for later crypto seizures.
The test is to give victims justice without warping the market. How the UK resolves this case will shape restitution for large crypto seizures and the balance between fair payouts and market stability.
