Blue Sky Grey's multinational claims recovery has made significant breakthroughs, victims should declare their debts as soon as possible.

This article is aimed at the victims of the “Blue Sky Gree” case from 2014 to 2017. It explains the progress of the case and the follow-up plan; please fill out the registration form at the end of the article, which will be submitted by the Mankun Law Firm in collaboration with a UK partner firm to represent you in claiming your rights in the UK court.

According to a report by Reuters, Qian Zhimin has pleaded guilty in the Southwark Crown Court in London on September 29, 2025! She is currently in custody awaiting sentencing.

Qian Zhimin's defense strategy initially insisted on a not guilty plea, but changed to a guilty plea in court. This significant shift is a key piece of good news for domestic victims and marks a breakthrough in the cross-border recovery of the Lantian Ge Rui case!

We strongly urge all victims: Please seize this critical opportunity and complete the creditor declaration as soon as possible. Only by actively asserting your rights can you strive for your rightful share in the subsequent asset recovery!

Qian Zhiming pleaded guilty in court: he admitted to the crimes of “possessing criminal property” and “transferring criminal property.”

Source: Reuters

The case process has accelerated into the sentencing phase

According to the Criminal Procedure Rules in the UK, once a defendant enters a guilty plea in the Crown Court, the court can directly record the conviction based on the acknowledgment of the guilty plea, without conducting a full trial of facts, and proceed to the sentencing stage.

In simple terms, this is equivalent to a “shortcut” in legal procedures — pleading guilty eliminates the need for both the prosecution and defense to engage in lengthy and complex evidence presentation and debate over the facts of the crime, greatly 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 to protect the rights of victims.

The court has the authority to issue a compensation order during the sentencing phase.

According to the UK Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, after a conviction entered, the court has the authority to issue a Compensation Order during the sentencing phase, requiring the defendant to compensate the victim for the losses caused by the crime.

The policy of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the UK also states: “When a victim suffers a loss, the court may order the defendant to pay compensation.”

What is a compensation order?

• It is a type of ancillary order, which is a court order requiring the defendant to compensate the victim for losses incurred as a result of the crime;
• Usually issued during the judgment or ancillary procedure stage, in practice, the court usually arranges a special hearing;

Therefore, although Qian Zhimin's plea of guilty itself will not result in a compensation order, the plea will expedite the sentencing phase, and thus a compensation order is usually issued earlier.

What impact does it have on the victims

Qian Zhimin's confession fundamentally changed the nature of the case:

1. Greatly enhance the certainty of results: Pleading guilty avoids unforeseen circumstances that may arise during the trial (such as prolonged tug-of-war between prosecution and defense), and prevents the victim from having an excessively long compensation process, making asset return time uncertain.

2. Significantly accelerate the recovery process: The simplification of procedures leads to substantial time savings. Victim groups can file civil claims in UK courts and use the upcoming “confiscation order” and “reparation order” as the strongest evidence, allowing them to enter the substantive asset return negotiation and distribution phase earlier.

3. Recovery opportunities expanded: The 61,000 bitcoins that are currently frozen were worth about £1.4 billion at the time of their seizure, but their value has now risen to over £5 billion. This massive asset has become a focal point of interest for both the UK government and Chinese investors. However, the recovery of the appreciation portion of the bitcoins is much more complicated:

• 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 Bitcoin indeed originates from the victim's initial investment (including the appreciated part thereafter). To achieve this, there must be a tracing report issued by professional institutions such as accounting firms and blockchain forensic companies to support it.
• If there is a lack of complete tracking evidence, the court may not adopt the above principles, but instead revert to the framework of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), only recognizing the principal as the recoverable portion. However, it is important to note that even when applying POCA, a basic evidential chain of the flow of funds must be established to prove that the relevant assets are indeed proceeds of crime; otherwise, the court will also be unable to determine the scope of recoverability.

Next Steps

Mankun Law Firm will collaborate with a UK law firm to undertake one or more representative case litigations, striving for the maximum benefits for the entire group of victims. During the litigation process, claims of ownership by victims over specific units of Bitcoin will be established. Meanwhile, we will negotiate with the UK Crown Prosecution Service to prevent assets from being claimed by the state before the judgment of the representative case.

What does the victim need to do?

• Register your information now to enter our registry;
• Register the investment amount and timeline, recipient account information, transfer/transaction records, contracts and receipts, and communication records with the handler;
• If you have reported to the police, please provide the receipt or number;
• If the information is incomplete, please register first. We will provide you with a list of supplementary materials to complete in batches.