UK weighs if victims of China fraud scheme get today’s value of seized 61K Bitcoin
UK officials are weighing whether to keep roughly $6.4 billion in gains from Bitcoin seized in a major Chinese fraud case instead of returning it to victims.
United Kingdom officials are weighing whether to retain billions of dollars in gains from seized Bitcoin tied to a massive fraud case, rather than redistributing the full amount to victims, according to the Financial Times.
According to a Thursday Financial Times report, the UK High Court may decide to reimburse only the original value of the investment, around 640 million British pounds ($862 million), to victims of the scam. This is despite the seized 61,000 Bitcoin (BTC) being worth nearly $7.24 billion at the time of writing, resulting in an excess of approximately $6.4 billion.
The Bitcoin was seized in 2018 in north London from scammers who defrauded 128,000 investors in China. Some Treasury officials have privately debated whether the windfall could help offset a budget deficit of up to 30 billion pounds ($40.5 billion). Under existing rules, assets seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act are usually paid into the Home Office or the Treasury Consolidated Fund, with court-ordered compensation when required.