Cryptocurrency fraud

67% of claimed amount recovered through exchange freezing and civil settlement; remainder unrecoverable due to counterparty liquidation.

Type: Cryptocurrency fraud
Jurisdictions: Hong Kong SAR, Singapore
Claimed loss: $500K – $1M
Duration: 9 months
Legal strategy: On-chain tracing to exchange deposit; Mareva injunction; civil settlement

Case narrative

Pig-butchering entry pattern over 11 weeks, with three deposit tranches. Tracing identified two Binance hot-wallet clusters before consolidation. Norwich Pharmacal and Mareva applications were sequenced through the Hong Kong Court of First Instance; freezing completed before the operator moved funds downstream. Civil settlement followed, producing a 67% return net of fees. An IC3 criminal referral was preserved but did not yield prosecution within the representation window.

Takeaway

Early engagement (within 30 days of loss) materially increased the portion of funds that remained freezable at regulated venues.