TechFlow News, February 20: According to Caixin, the UK High Court held a two-day hearing on February 16–17, 2026—the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year—to address asset disposition in a Bitcoin money laundering case involving 60,000 BTC. Based on information disclosed during the hearing, Caixin reports that over 11,300 Chinese victims plan to file compensation claims with the UK High Court—representing only 8.8% of the total 128,409 victims.
As previously reported by Caixin, the funds underlying this largest-ever Bitcoin money laundering case in the UK originated from an illegal public deposit scheme run by Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (“Lantian Gerui”) in China. The case’s principal suspect, Qian Zhimin, fled to the UK with the illicitly obtained Bitcoin and triggered anti-money laundering scrutiny after purchasing luxury real estate there. Qian was subsequently sentenced in the UK to 11 years and 8 months’ imprisonment, and more than 60,000 BTC were frozen by UK authorities.
