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A U.K. High Court judge allowed a lawsuit to proceed over the alleged theft of 2,323 bitcoin, now valued at about $172 million, from a Trezor hardware wallet. Court filings say Ping Fai Yuen accused his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, of using in-home CCTV to obtain the wallet’s 24-word recovery phrase and transfer the bitcoin without authorization in August 2023. The assets were later spread across 71 non-exchange blockchain addresses and, according to the filings, have not moved since Dec. 21, 2023, making tracing and potential recovery central to the case.
The case is being watched as a test of how English property law applies to cryptocurrency, including whether traditional remedies such as proprietary claims, tracing, disclosure, and possible freezing orders can be used for digital assets. Reporting also notes that Yuen later installed audio devices in the home after being warned the bitcoin might be taken, and that he subsequently pleaded guilty to assault-related charges after confronting Li. The ruling does not resolve the theft allegations, but it signals that U.K. courts are willing to hear claims involving alleged misuse of a hardware wallet seed phrase and treat stolen crypto as property capable of legal recovery.
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A U.K. High Court judge ruled that Yuen's lawsuit over the alleged theft may continue under alternative legal claims, even though the tort of conversion does not apply to bitcoin under current English law. The ruling allows the dispute to proceed toward trial if the allegations can be proven.
The allegedly stolen 2,323 BTC was reportedly spread across 71 non-exchange blockchain addresses and has remained unmoved since Dec. 21, 2023. This date is cited as the last known on-chain movement of the funds.
Police reportedly arrested Fun Yung Li in connection with the alleged theft of 2,323 BTC, searched her property, and seized cold wallets and watches. She was later released on bail, with no further action pending new evidence.
Ping Fai Yuen alleges that his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, used his 24-word recovery phrase, reportedly obtained via in-home CCTV, to transfer 2,323 bitcoin from his hardware wallet without permission. The transfer allegedly occurred in August 2023, when the bitcoin was worth just under $60 million.
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Zhimin Qian, a 47-year-old Chinese national also known as Yadi Zhang, was convicted in the United Kingdom for orchestrating a massive fraudulent investment scheme in China and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency. Between 2014 and 2017, Qian ran a company in China that promised investors extraordinary returns of up to 300%, ultimately defrauding more than 128,000 victims and raising approximately 40 billion yuan. The majority of victims were individuals aged between 50 and 75, who were lured by false promises of daily dividends and guaranteed profits. When the scheme collapsed, Qian converted the illicit proceeds into Bitcoin and fled China using false documents, entering the UK in 2018. Upon her arrival, she attempted to launder the funds by purchasing luxury properties and running businesses with the assistance of Jian Wen, who was later convicted and sentenced to over six years in prison for her role. In October 2018, the Metropolitan Police, acting on intelligence about the movement of stolen cryptocurrency, raided Qian’s London residence and seized 61,000 Bitcoin, which was then worth hundreds of millions of pounds and has since appreciated to over £5.5 billion ($7.3 billion), making it the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history. The investigation, which spanned seven years and involved cooperation with Chinese law enforcement and the UK’s National Crime Agency, required the review of thousands of documents and evidence from multiple jurisdictions. Qian pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to acquiring and possessing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The case is considered a landmark in both the scale of the fraud and the value of the assets recovered. Authorities highlighted the complexity of the investigation, which included tracking the movement of cryptocurrency wallets and unraveling the laundering process. The UK government is now engaged in negotiations regarding the disposition of the seized funds, with Chinese victims seeking restitution. The conviction underscores the growing use of cryptocurrency in large-scale financial crimes and the challenges faced by law enforcement in tracing and recovering digital assets. The Metropolitan Police emphasized their commitment to pursuing justice for the thousands of victims and to disrupting the use of the UK as a haven for laundering proceeds of international fraud. The case also demonstrates the importance of international cooperation in tackling transnational cyber-enabled financial crime. Qian’s sentencing is pending, and the outcome is expected to set a precedent for future cases involving cryptocurrency and cross-border fraud.
Jun 29, 2026
South Korean police arrested two suspects over the alleged embezzlement of **22 BTC (~$1.5M)** that had been held in police custody after a virtual asset company turned over a cold wallet during a 2021 hacking investigation. Reporting indicates required procedures to move seized crypto into a police-controlled cold wallet and vault were not followed; instead, the original third party retained control elements and later allegedly provided a **mnemonic seed phrase** to a hacker as part of a purported “loan” arrangement, enabling the attacker to recover the wallet and transfer the funds without police detection. The theft was reportedly uncovered during a National Police Agency audit triggered by a separate January 2026 incident in which **320 BTC** went missing from the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office. Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of **$61 million in USDT (Tether)** tied to **“pig butchering”** cryptocurrency investment scams, stating the funds were traced to addresses used to launder proceeds stolen from victims. The DoJ described typical scam mechanics involving social engineering via dating/social messaging apps, coercion of trafficked workers in Southeast Asia–based scam compounds, and fraudulent investment platforms that display fabricated returns and impose additional “fees” when victims attempt withdrawals, with law enforcement emphasizing cross-border tracing and disruption of laundering infrastructure.
Jun 29, 2026
Zhimin Qian, known as the "Bitcoin Queen," was sentenced in London to 11 years and eight months in prison for laundering $7.3 billion in Bitcoin, proceeds from a massive cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded over 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017. The Metropolitan Police's Economic Crime team led a seven-year investigation that culminated in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK history, confiscating 61,000 Bitcoin (worth approximately £5.5 billion) from Qian's London residence. Qian, who operated under the alias Yadi Zhang, lured victims with promises of high returns, converted the illicit proceeds into Bitcoin, and attempted to launder the funds by purchasing property in the UK with the help of accomplices. The case also resulted in the conviction of other members of the fraud ring, including Jian Wen and Seng Hok Ling, who assisted in moving and laundering the stolen cryptocurrency. The scale of the operation and the size of the Bitcoin seizure surpassed previous records, including the US Department of Justice's 2022 confiscation related to the Bitfinex hack. The sentencing highlights the international reach of cryptocurrency-based financial crimes and the growing capability of law enforcement agencies to track, seize, and prosecute illicit digital assets across borders.
Jun 29, 2026