Victims of the Blue Sky Gerui Non-Deposit Case May See a Turning Point: Qian Zhimin Arrested in the UK, 61,000 Bitcoins Become the Focus of Recovering Losses

Victims of the Blue Sky Gerui Non-Deposit Case May See a Turning Point: Qian Zhimin Arrested in the UK, 61,000 Bitcoins Become the Focus of Recovering LossesFollowing the arrest of fugitive Qian Zhimin in the United Kingdom, victims of the suspected illegal absorption of public deposits case involving Tianjin Blue Sky Gerui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd

Victims of the Blue Sky Gerui Non-Deposit Case May See a Turning Point: Qian Zhimin Arrested in the UK, 61,000 Bitcoins Become the Focus of Recovering Losses

Following the arrest of fugitive Qian Zhimin in the United Kingdom, victims of the suspected illegal absorption of public deposits case involving Tianjin Blue Sky Gerui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Blue Sky Gerui") have seen a turning point in their efforts to recover their losses. Qian Zhimin is the main suspect in this non-deposit case involving hundreds of billions of yuan. British police seized 61,000 bitcoins in a Bitcoin money laundering case and believe that these bitcoins were mainly purchased with proceeds from criminal activities committed by Qian Zhimin in China. According to the current market value of Bitcoin, the 61,000 bitcoins seized by British police are worth hundreds of billions of yuan. Whether these bitcoins can be recovered has become a focus of attention.

International Asset Recovery Faces Challenges, Civil Procedures Become a New Path for Recovering Losses

Some legal scholars interviewed by the media said that although China and the UK had signed a treaty on criminal judicial assistance, there were no detailed provisions regarding the conditions and arrangements for the return or sharing of assets. Therefore, there are no clear international rules on how much can be recovered through international asset recovery. In this case, international cooperation and consultations are still needed.

In addition, some investors in this case are also trying to recover their losses through civil procedures. Shanghai Yingdong Law Firm is one of the law firms involved in representing investors in the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case to recover their losses. Li Yinyao, a lawyer at the firm, told The Paper that the UK High Court officially filed a winding-up petition from Chinese creditors against Blue Sky Gerui on July 10. At the latest hearing on July 25, the UK court agreed to serve the winding-up petition on Qian Zhimin. Next, the relevant procedures will be carried out according to the UK court's requirements, and a new hearing is expected in September.

Li Yinyao said that this means that the recovery has officially entered civil judicial proceedings. However, the next steps will not be easy. Li Yinyao said that due to the complexity of the situation, the UK courts will need more time and hold more hearings to clarify the facts of the case. Over a longer period, there is uncertainty regarding the fluctuation of Bitcoin's value and how it can be converted. In addition, many elderly people participated in the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case, and they will face various difficulties in collecting evidence and registering to claim their debts.

Behind the UK's Largest Bitcoin Money Laundering Case: Qian Zhimin's Escape Route and the Origins of the Non-Deposit Case

Years after the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case broke out, fugitive Qian Zhimin reappeared in the public eye due to a Bitcoin money laundering case in the UK. On May 24, 2024, local time, Jianwen (phonetically), a 42-year-old Chinese-British woman, was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison by the Southwark Crown Court in London for assisting her employer in money laundering using Bitcoin between October 2017 and January 2022. In this case, the British police seized over 61,000 bitcoins, the largest seizure of Bitcoin in the UK to date.

According to China News Weekly, a British judicial document describes that these 61,000 bitcoins were mainly purchased with proceeds from criminal activities committed by Qian Zhimin in China. Qian Zhimin was the owner and controller of Blue Sky Gerui. After Chinese police investigated Blue Sky Gerui, Qian Zhimin fled China in July 2017 and arrived in the UK in September 2017 with a passport under the name Yadi Zhang. Yadi Zhang is one of Qian Zhimin's many aliases.

In the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case, she was better known as "Huahua." At the end of 2017, Tianjin police announced that they had opened a case to investigate Blue Sky Gerui for suspected illegal absorption of deposits, and other relevant local public security agencies were also conducting investigations and opening cases. On June 24, 2019, the Hedong Public Security Sub-Bureau of Tianjin announced that the public security organs were actively working to crack the case. At that time, a total of 50 suspects, including Ren Jiangtao, the legal representative of the company, had been arrested, of whom 28 had been transferred to prosecution. Judicial documents published on the China Judgments Online platform show that to date, courts in multiple locations have sentenced multiple suspects in this case.

"Give Gerui three years, and Gerui will give you three lifetimes of wealth," was the slogan of Blue Sky Gerui at the time. Judicial documents show that after its establishment in March 2014, Blue Sky Gerui used the internet, large-scale promotional events, and other methods to promote intelligent elderly care services as a facade, launching more than ten financial products. They vigorously promoted the promise of zero risk and high returns, and illegally absorbed deposits from the general public through offline contracts.

A judgment obtained by The Paper shows that between April 2014 and August 2017, Blue Sky Gerui illegally absorbed over 40.2 billion yuan, all of which was controlled and disposed of by Qian Zhimin. Of this amount, over 34.1 billion yuan was used to repay over 120,000 fund-raising participants. Qian Zhimin is very mysterious. According to media reports, most investors only knew that Qian Zhimin was called "Huahua," and no one knew her background. When attending meetings, she would wear a mask and sit in the front of the venue. Investors were not allowed to bring mobile phones or take photos or videos.

After the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case broke out, Qian Zhimin fled and attempted to launder the huge sum of money she had obtained. Lawyer Li Yinyao introduced that British judicial documents in the Jianwen case show that after entering London, Qian Zhimin hired Jianwen, who worked at a local Chinese restaurant, as her "white glove" to carry out a series of money laundering operations, including exchanging Bitcoin, buying jewelry and luxury mansions worth millions. However, due to the significant discrepancy between Jianwen's reported income and her current spending and the unclear source of her funds, it triggered the UK's anti-money laundering procedures, drawing the attention of local police.

On April 24, 2024, local time, Qian Zhimin, who had been hiding for many years, appeared for the first time in Westminster Magistrates' Court and was charged with obtaining, using or possessing criminal property at various locations in the UK between October 1, 2017, and April 23, 2024. However, she pleaded not guilty. The case is currently pending further consideration by the local court.

The Path to Recovering Bitcoins: Challenges Await

Following Qian Zhimin's arrest in the UK, how to recover the 61,000 bitcoins has become a concern for the fund-raising participants in the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case. On May 16, 2024, the Hedong Public Security Sub-Bureau of the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice regarding the Blue Sky Gerui non-deposit case, stating that the public security organs are actively promoting various efforts to capture fugitives and recover stolen assets. In February 2018, the Tianjin Municipal Public Security organs issued a red notice through Interpol for Qian Zhimin, the main suspect, to conduct a global manhunt and continuously collaborate with law enforcement agencies in countries such as the UK through international law enforcement cooperation channels. Currently, the public security organs are actively promoting various efforts to capture fugitives and recover stolen assets.

The Tianjin police urged fund-raising participants to cooperate with the public security organs in handling the case according to law, rationally express their demands and report situations through legal channels, avoid believing rumors or spreading them, and be wary of non-regular cross-border recovery agent services to avoid falling victim to scams.

Huang Feng, a professor at the Criminal Law Science Research Institute of Beijing Normal University and an expert on international fugitive capture and asset recovery, analyzed that the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act introduced two mechanisms for asset recovery: criminal confiscation and civil recovery. If the asset recovery is achieved through criminal confiscation, China and the UK can cooperate in the area of criminal judicial assistance. According to civil recovery procedures, the right holder has the right to file a right claim after the initiation of civil recovery proceedings.

According to Southern Metropolis Daily, a legal scholar stated that the 2013 China-UK Treaty on Criminal Judicial Assistance provides a legal basis for China and the UK to conduct criminal judicial assistance, but there are no detailed provisions regarding the conditions and arrangements for returning or sharing assets, as well as the proportion of returns and shares. Therefore, there are no clear international rules at present, and international cooperation and consultations are still needed in this case. Some precedent cases have split the recovered assets equally between the two countries.

Other lawyers have analyzed that while state organs have a stronger ability to fix evidence in judicial assistance procedures, they require more decision-making procedures. Civil procedures, though more direct and efficient, are more challenging in fixing