This article is reprinted with permission from Jinse Finance, author: Mankun Blockchain Law, copyright belongs to the original author.
According to a report by Reuters, Zhimin Qian pleaded guilty on September 29, 2025, at the Southwark Crown Court in London! She is currently in custody awaiting sentencing.
Zhimin Qian's defense strategy initially maintained a not guilty plea but shifted to a guilty plea in court. This significant change is crucial good news for domestic victims, marking a breakthrough in the cross-border recovery of the Blue Sky Gray case!
We strongly urge all victims: please seize this critical opportunity and complete your creditor claims as soon as possible. Only by actively asserting your rights can you strive for your rightful share in the subsequent asset recovery!
According to the UK Criminal Procedure Rules, once a defendant pleads guilty in a Crown Court, the court can directly record a conviction based on the guilty plea without conducting a full trial of facts, and instead move directly to the sentencing phase.
In simple terms, this is akin to a "shortcut" in legal proceedings—pleading guilty eliminates the lengthy and complex evidence presentation and debate between the prosecution and defense regarding the facts of the crime, significantly shortening the overall litigation cycle. For victims, the most direct benefit is that the core goal of asset recovery—the court issuing a confiscation order and a compensation order—will be initiated more quickly, becoming a powerful tool for protecting victims' rights.
According to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, once a defendant is convicted, the court has the authority to issue a compensation order during the sentencing phase, requiring the defendant to compensate the victim for losses caused by the crime.
The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) policy also states: "When there are victims who have suffered losses, the court may order the defendant to pay a compensation order."
What is a compensation order?
It is an ancillary order, a court order requiring the defendant to compensate the victim for losses caused by the crime;
Typically issued during the judgment or ancillary procedure phase, in practice, the court usually arranges a special hearing;
Therefore, although Zhimin Qian's guilty plea itself will not directly result in a compensation order, the plea will expedite the sentencing phase, and thus a compensation order is likely to be issued sooner.
Zhimin Qian's guilty plea fundamentally changes the nature of the case:
Greatly enhances the certainty of the outcome: Pleading guilty avoids unexpected developments during the trial (such as prolonged disputes between the prosecution and defense), preventing the victim's recovery process from being too lengthy and the timeline for asset return from being uncertain.
Significantly accelerates the recovery process: The simplification of procedures leads to substantial time savings. The group of victims can file civil claims in UK courts and leverage the forthcoming confiscation and compensation orders as the strongest evidence, allowing them to enter substantive asset recovery negotiations and distribution phases sooner.
Expands recovery opportunities: The currently frozen 61,000 bitcoins were valued at approximately £1.4 billion when seized, but their value has now risen to over £5 billion. This substantial asset has become a focal point of interest for both the UK government and Chinese investors. However, the situation regarding the recovery of the appreciation portion of the bitcoins is much more complex:
If the UK court chooses to apply common law, it will need to rely on the principle of equitable tracing to prove that the currently frozen bitcoins indeed originated from the victims' initial investments (including the subsequent appreciation). To achieve this, a tracing report from professional institutions such as accounting firms or blockchain forensic companies must be provided.
If complete tracing evidence is lacking, the court may not accept the aforementioned principle and instead revert to the framework of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), only recognizing the principal amount as recoverable. However, it is important to note that even under POCA, a basic chain of evidence regarding the flow of funds must be established to prove that the relevant assets are indeed criminal proceeds; otherwise, the court will also be unable to determine the scope of recoverable assets.
Mankun Law Firm will collaborate with UK law firms to undertake one or more representative case litigations to secure the maximum benefits for the entire victim group. During the litigation process, we will establish the victims' claims of ownership over specific units of bitcoin. Meanwhile, we will negotiate with the UK Crown Prosecution Service to prevent the assets from being transferred to the state before the judgment of the representative case.
What do victims need to do?
Immediately register your information to enter our registry;
Register investment amounts and timelines, payment account information, transfer records, contracts and receipts, and communication records with intermediaries;
If you have reported to the police, please provide the receipt or case number;
If the information is incomplete, please register anyway; we will provide you with a list of supplementary materials to complete in batches;
Related news: The UK tax authority intensifies efforts to combat unpaid tax revenues, with the number of cryptocurrency warning letters doubling.
Original article: “Zhimin Qian Pleads Guilty—Major Breakthrough in Blue Sky Gray Cross-Border Recovery, Victims Urged to File Claims Promptly”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
