UK Court Applies Chinese Law to Seized Bitcoin Claims

A High Court ruling has placed ownership claims to more than 61,000 seized Bitcoin under Chinese law, leaving victims’ rights to the assets unresolved. Justice Mark Turner’s decision on October 12 determines which country’s law applies to the claims, not who owns the cryptocurrency or how much claimants may recover. The case is part of civil recovery proceedings in England linked to an investment fraud in China. The ruling rejected investors’ arguments for applying English law, or a combination of English and Chinese law, to their asserted property rights. English law will govern the court procedure, while Chinese law will determine whether individual claimants have ownership interests in the Bitcoin. The decision leaves the substance and application of Chinese law for later proceedings in the English courts. Claimants must establish a property interest in the assets; a personal claim seeking repayment from the fraudster is not, by itself, enough to establish ownership of the Bitcoin. The court has not yet assessed individual claims or determined an outcome for the seized assets.