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A U.K. court has agreed to hear an investor lawsuit requesting the liquidation of a Chinese company that orchestrated a multibillion-dollar fraud that has left around $3.9 billion in Bitcoin out of reach of the scam’s victims in China.天津蓝天格锐特大非法集资案，及其衍生出的英国最大洗钱案，近日有新进展。
有受害投资者在英国提起民事司法程序，提出对蓝天格锐的海外清盘申请。英格兰和威尔士高等法院商业与财产法庭受理后近日签发命令，向蓝天格锐的幕后老板钱志敏、法定代表人任江涛、公司注册地以及中国的相关部门送达海外清盘申请书及相关文件，并在中国的《环球时报》《法治日报》登载了清算申请公告。
The court’s decision to hear the case marks the beginning of what is expected to be a long cross-border legal slog for those looking to recover the more than 61,000 bitcoins seized by British police in the wake of the scam, whose perpetrators embezzled some 43.5 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) from more than 100,000 people in China.据财新此前报道，这起英国到目前为止查处的最大规模加密货币洗钱案，背后的资金来源是2017年案发的天津特大非法集资案件——蓝天格锐电子科技有限公司非法吸收公众存款案，预计窟窿逾百亿元。按照当时有关部门的公开披露，该案涉案累计金额超430亿元（累计非法集资金额），受害者近13万人，遍及全国31个省、直辖市、自治区（参见《财新周刊》2024年第14期封面文章《6万枚比特币案中案》）。
Some of those ill-gotten gains were whisked overseas in the form of Bitcoin, of which a portion was later seized in the U.K. The seizure of more than 61,000 bitcoins followed a years-long investigation into what the British Metropolitan Police called the largest Bitcoin money laundering case in the country’s history.In response to the liquidation petition, the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales also ordered efforts to ensure that the company behind the scam, Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., is informed that the case is pending in the U.K. On July 25, the court decided to allow the details of the case to be publicized in China’s national newspapers as well as local newspapers in Tianjin, where Gerui Electronic was headquartered, according to a court order seen by Caixin.公告称，“法庭于2024年7月25日裁定，法庭裁决可以在中国国内的全国性报纸及天津地方报纸上公布此申请及相关听证会详情，以便相关利害关系人知悉。听证会时间待法院通知。所有相关文档，包括申请书、核实声明、相关法庭判决摘要及本次听证会公告，已经或正在送达被申请人”。
The purpose of the order is to inform several parties involved in the case that the court will be considering the liquidation petition, Caixin learned from sources familiar with the matter.They include Qian Zhimin, the alleged actual controller of Gerui Electronic and mastermind behind the scam. Qian was arrested in the U.K. in April after spending years on the run.2020年8月，钱志敏从英国逃走，警方此后追踪到她可能在远东的某个地方。她于2024年4月在英国归案。关于她被捕的细节，伦敦警察厅没有回复财新的采访。据财新了解，钱志敏将于10月21日在伦敦受审，涉嫌罪名为非法占有、转移加密货币。
The court order marked the start of what looks to be a lengthy legal challenge, experts said. In general, creditors in China cannot directly apply for the compulsory liquidation of a Chinese company in the U.K. However, if the company in question was registered in the U.K., or has business operations and significant assets in the U.K., or if the company’s actual controller has personal assets in the U.K., Chinese creditors can seek to recover specific assets through the U.K. legal system, they said.一般而言，中国的债权人无法在英国直接申请对一家中国公司的强制清算。不过，如果该公司在英国注册或在英国有大量资产和有业务，或者公司实际控制人在英国拥有个人资产，中国债权人可以寻求通过英国法律系统追讨这些特定的资产。
Qian arrived in London in 2017 amid China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. A document from a court in North China’s Hebei province suggested that Qian had been planning to transfer her assets to the U.K. as early as 2015 — one year after the establishment of Gerui Electronic. The company had registered a branch in London, according to a witness statement cited in the document, seen by Caixin.蓝天格锐幕后老板钱志敏于2017年夏天从中国跑路，以“张雅迪”的身份用圣基茨和尼维斯护照进入英国；她在伦敦通过微信群招聘到助手温俭，两人此后一年多将比特币兑现后大肆挥霍，因购置豪宅时引发反洗钱审查，招来警方注意，最终锁定了6.1万枚比特币。
Between 2014 and 2017, under the guise of being a technology company, Gerui Electronic introduced multiple wealth management products that it touted as having zero risks and high returns to lure investors. Ren Jiangtao, Gerui Electronic’s sole shareholder, said that those products were backed by cryptocurrencies, according to the document.In late 2017, police in Tianjin launched an investigation into Gerui Electronic on suspicion of illegal fundraising. Over the past two years, local police across China have been trying to recover the investors’ funds.2024年5月16日，天津市公安局河东分局发布案情通报称，其对天津蓝天格锐电子科技有限公司涉嫌非法吸收公众存款案2018年2月立案侦查以来，通过国际刑警组织对主要犯罪嫌疑人钱志敏发布红色通报，开展全球缉捕，并通过国际执法合作渠道持续同英国等国家相关执法部门开展国际追逃追赃协作。
In an April email response to Caixin, the Metropolitan Police said that they had received a request from Chinese authorities regarding the seized bitcoins. That may result in some or all of the assets in the liquidation process not being distributed in the short term, according to legal experts.中国公安机关已经立案调查并对涉案资产发起了司法行动，那么中国可能主张对该资产拥有优先管辖权。在这种情况下，英国法院的清盘程序可能与中国的执法行动发生冲突。中国已向英国发出请求协调处置涉案资产，意味着中国可能希望通过其司法程序优先处置这些资产。英国可能会配合中国的请求，冻结该笔比特币并协调资产返还事宜。这可能导致清盘程序中的部分或全部资产无法在短期内进行分配。
Li Yinyao, a lawyer with Shanghai Yingdong Law Firm, which is working with Wang Wu, the victim who filed the liquidation petition in the U.K., warned that these kinds of cases can take a long time. Company liquidation proceedings could last one or two years, or even longer, she said.“公司清盘审理不是短期能够结束的，可能持续一两年，也可能持续三五年甚至更久。”上海瀛东律师事务所李音瑶律师对登记债权的集资参与人表示。
Xu Jinghan, a partner at Beijing Dacheng Law Offices LLP, said that although a civil recovery might be possible for Chinese investors to get money back from overseas, it requires a comprehensive understanding of foreign civil judicial procedures.Qian’s trial has been set for Oct. 21, with charges including illegal possession and transfer of cryptocurrency, Caixin has learned from sources close to the matter.2020年8月，钱志敏从英国逃走，警方此后追踪到她可能在远东的某个地方。她于2024年4月在英国归案。关于她被捕的细节，伦敦警察厅没有回复财新的采访。据财新了解，钱志敏将于10月21日在伦敦受审，涉嫌罪名为非法占有、转移加密货币。
In a May statement, Roger Sahota, a lawyer representing Qian, said his client “categorically denies” all the fraud accusations against her in China. Qian fled China in secret in 2017, Sahota said, because a government crackdown on successful crypto entrepreneurs had left her afraid that she might be unjustly arrested. “She came to the United Kingdom believing this country would provide her with refuge from persecution by the Chinese authorities,” he said in the statement.
Writing by Qing Na
Editing by Michael Bellart
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