On January 25, according to Caixin, the civil recovery proceedings in the UK for Qian Zhimin's 60,000 BTC money laundering case saw their first hearing of the new year. Although the UK criminal proceedings in this case have concluded, the UK prosecutor's civil recovery, the Chinese victim's rights claims, and the bankruptcy liquidation proceedings are proceeding in parallel and mutually constraining each other.
This was a typical procedural hearing, without making any rulings on asset ownership, compensation plans, or substantive legal issues. The core issue was who should represent the vast number of Chinese victims. Judge Turner, who presided over the case, repeatedly expressed concern about the current situation. With more and more law firms representing different groups of Chinese victims, the UK High Court is facing the real risk of "representation overload." Subsequent hearings are scheduled for February 16-17, at which time further arrangements or guidance may be made regarding the specific impact of bankruptcy liquidation proceedings on civil recovery cases.
