Cryptocurrency Fraud & Asset Recovery
Tracing, freezing and recovering cryptoassets — and defending claims that assets represent the proceeds of fraud.
If you have lost money to a cryptocurrency or investment fraud, English law provides some of the fastest and most far-reaching recovery tools available anywhere: proprietary and equitable tracing into cryptoassets and converted proceeds, worldwide freezing injunctions, disclosure orders against exchanges and banks, and enforcement against English property and companies. Duan & Duan UK LLP acts for victims recovering assets — and for individuals and businesses defending claims that assets represent the proceeds of fraud — in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Recovering stolen cryptoassets
Recovering stolen cryptoassets typically means tracing funds through a chain of wallets and exchanges and, eventually, back into fiat currency. English law's proprietary and equitable tracing rules apply to cryptoassets themselves and to the proceeds into which they are converted. Where there is a real risk that a fraudster will move or dissipate assets, we apply for freezing injunctions, including worldwide freezing orders covering assets wherever in the world they are held. Freezing relief is frequently combined with disclosure orders: a Norwich Pharmacal order compels a third party, such as a bank or an exchange, to disclose information about the movement of assets, and a Bankers Trust order requires a bank to provide information about an account holder's dealings. Claims of this kind often involve the exchanges, banks and payment intermediaries through which the funds passed, and — where assets or evidence sit in mainland China, Hong Kong or an offshore centre — we coordinate with forensic investigators and overseas counsel to preserve the position across borders.
Defending proceeds-of-crime allegations
We also act for individuals and businesses defending allegations that their assets represent the proceeds of fraud. That includes defending Part 5 civil recovery proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and resisting confiscation or restraint of property said to be traceable to criminal conduct, including on good-faith and valuable-consideration grounds. Our Proceeds of Crime practice covers Account Freezing Orders, forfeiture, civil recovery and confiscation proceedings, including Part 5 defences against allegations connected with cryptocurrency-derived funds.
Our experience
- Civil recovery following the conviction of Zhimin Qian (Lantian Gerui cryptocurrency fraud). The firm leads a team acting for one of the cohorts of applicants in the King's Bench Division civil recovery proceedings arising from the conviction of Zhimin Qian — the largest cryptocurrency seizure in UK judicial history. See the firm's note on the civil-recovery dimension of the case.
- Cross-border asset tracing across England, Hong Kong and an offshore centre, obtaining a worldwide freezing injunction and related disclosure orders.
Who leads this work
This work is led by Jackson Ng MCIArb, Partner & Barrister at Duan & Duan UK LLP, who also advises on the wider cross-border commercial disputes covered on our UK–China disputes hub, and on the broader remedies available in freezing order and asset recovery cases generally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cryptocurrency that has been stolen actually be traced?
Yes. English law's proprietary and equitable tracing rules apply to cryptoassets and to the fiat proceeds into which they are converted. A freezing order preserves the assets while they are located; disclosure orders against exchanges and banks — Norwich Pharmacal orders compelling a third party to disclose what it knows, and Bankers Trust orders compelling a bank to disclose an account holder's dealings — are used to establish where the funds have gone. In practice, tracing crypto fraud usually means combining freezing relief with disclosure orders to build a complete picture of the asset trail.
How quickly can stolen crypto assets be frozen?
Freezing order applications, including worldwide freezing orders, are almost always made without notice to the respondent and can be obtained urgently — because advance warning would allow a fraudster to move or hide the assets before the order takes effect. The applicant must show a good arguable case, a real risk of dissipation, and that a freezing order is just and convenient, together with full and frank disclosure of all material facts to the court.
Do you act for defendants as well as victims of cryptocurrency fraud?
Yes. Alongside acting for victims, we defend individuals and businesses facing allegations that their assets represent the proceeds of fraud, including Part 5 civil recovery proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and claims that assets are traceable to an overseas cryptocurrency-exchange fraud, raising good-faith and valuable-consideration defences where they apply.