Chinese and British officials deciding on return of 61000 stolen Bitcoins valued at $6.7 billion
Chinese and British officials are currently collaborating to address the complex matter of returning 61,000 stolen Bitcoins worth over $6.7 billion. These funds were seized from Chinese national Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, who has earned the moniker “Bitcoin Queen.” This recent development has left several loose ends that authorities are working diligently to tie up.
Authorities are focused on tracking the movement of the stolen funds and identifying other fugitives to ensure the return of the funds to the victims. The South China Morning Post reports that police in Tianjin are exhaustively tracing more than 128,000 investors who fell victim to fraudulent investment schemes that operated from 2014 to 2017. The syndicate responsible for the scams converted their illicit gains into Bitcoin and real estate to cover their tracks. Still, Qian’s guilty plea has opened the door to recovery efforts.
The challenges ahead are significant, given the cross-border nature of the crime, the extensive number of victims involved, and the volatile value of Bitcoin. Tianjin authorities have made initial contact with claimants through an online platform but have informed them that the process could be protracted. Some experts have even expressed doubt regarding the likelihood of victims receiving full compensation for their losses.
The British government faces the additional challenge of determining the origins of the funds used to purchase Bitcoin. There is a pressing need to establish whether these funds were exclusively from the fraudulent investment scheme or if they were commingled with proceeds from other criminal activities. Complicating matters further is the fact that when British police confiscated the digital wallets back in 2018, one Bitcoin was valued at less than $10,000, with it plummeting to below $3,300 by the year’s end.
Today, the value of Bitcoin has surged, reaching around $110,000 and exceeding its previous all-time high of over $125,000 in October. This represents over a 30-fold increase in value. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain regarding whether this increase will be fairly distributed among the victims or if they will only receive the initial value lost.
Although the initial seizure held a value of over $200 million, it is now estimated at over $6.7 billion. The U.K. government is positioned to devise a compensation mechanism for the victims, but reports indicate that they are likely to receive only the confirmed amount they were defrauded of, without considering the substantial increase in Bitcoin value. Some members of the British government have proposed retaining a significant portion of the seized Bitcoin, pledging to return only the original sum. However, this proposal has sparked concerns over potential diplomatic tensions and could reflect poorly on the U.K. internationally.
Given the complex legal landscape ahead, it is evident that there will be a prolonged legal battle before the funds are disbursed, whether to the victims or the British government. Ultimately, the collaboration between Chinese and British authorities will be key in addressing the nuances of this cryptocurrency crime and ensuring that justice is served for the victims.
