China Moves to Confiscate $5 Billion in Bitcoin From Fraudster Who Fled to UK: Report

Bitcoin Magazine China Moves to Confiscate $5 Billion in Bitcoin From Fraudster Who Fled to UK: Report Chinese authorities are working to seize nearly 62,000 bitcoins — worth around $5 billion at today’s prices — linked to one of the country’s largest-ever fraud cases. Prosecutors allege that Qian Zhimin, the alleged controller of Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology, recruited associates to sell fake wealth management products nationwide from 2014 to 2017 without financial regulatory approval, promising guaranteed returns to investors, according to a report last week from Shanghai’s The Paper. The scheme raised some RMB 40.3 billion ($2.8 billion). Qian allegedly used investors’ cash to pay off earlier participants — Ponzi-style — while channeling funds into the bitcoin holdings, property, cars, and jewelry.

First reported by Bitcoin Magazine. This page is a short excerpt; the full text is theirs.