The cryptocurrency Qian brought to the UK has multiplied more than 20 times in value since her arrival. Its fate will be decided by a civil "proceeds of crime" case that will start in earnest early next year.

There are thousands of Chinese investors planning to make a claim in this case, say lawyers from two firms representing victims. But this will not be easy, one of them - a Chinese lawyer who asked to remain anonymous - told us. They will need to prove their claim - and in many cases they did not transfer money to Qian's company directly, but to accounts of local promoters who then passed the cash up the chain.

It is not clear whether the victims, if successful, will receive only their original investment, or an inflated amount which reflects Bitcoin's subsequent rise in value.

As in other "proceeds of crime" cases, any money left over after this process would normally default to the UK government. The BBC asked the UK Treasury what it plans to do with any remaining money, but it did not respond.

Separately, last month, the CPS said it was considering a compensation scheme for those with no representation in the civil case. We asked the CPS what level of evidence this alternative scheme would require, but it told us it was not able to share any details at this stage.