UK Court Rules Chinese Law Must Decide Ownership of Seized 61,000 Bitcoin
Summary
- The High Court in London ruled that Chinese law should apply to the ownership dispute over 61,000 seized Bitcoin.
- The court said it chose Chinese law, rather than English law, because the victims lost money in China and the related contractual relationships were also formed there.
- The court said the ruling does not determine the final ownership of the Bitcoin and that it will later examine under Chinese law whether the ownership claims should be recognized.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
A UK court has ruled that Chinese law should govern a dispute over the ownership of 61,000 seized Bitcoin, worth about $4.9 billion, which victims of an investment scam in China are seeking to recover.
Cointelegraph reported on October 13 that the High Court in London found that Chinese law, rather than English law, should apply to the Bitcoin ownership lawsuit brought by the victims. The court said the victims lost money in China and that the relevant contractual relationships were also formed there.
The case stems from a large-scale investment fraud in China between 2014 and 2017. UK authorities seized the 61,000 Bitcoin during a money-laundering investigation, and the victims have claimed direct ownership of the assets.
The ruling does not determine the Bitcoin's ultimate ownership. The court will next consider under Chinese law whether the victims' ownership claims should be recognized. The victims plan to appeal.
More than 128,000 people are known to have been affected by the fraud.
Uk Jin
wook9629@bloomingbit.ioH3LLO, World! I am Uk Jin.