Behind Cryptocurrency 'Thefts and Scams': Why Does Civil Relief Frequently Encounter Obstacles?
Behind the surge in cryptocurrency "thefts and scams", why does civil relief frequently hit roadblocks? This article explores the legal challenges through two representative cases.
In Case 1, a company paid 800,000 USDT to a Chinese employee of an overseas exchange for a listing service, only to have the employee disappear. Despite cross-border complexities and initial police refusal to accept the report (citing the company’s foreign status and claims that crypto "is not protected by law"), lawyers eventually secured case acceptance by invoking criminal procedure rules and citing regulatory recognition of virtual assets as property. However, formal立案 (case filing) is still pending.
Case 2 involved a woman scammed into transferring over RMB 3 million to a USDT exchanger for a fake investment. While police quickly arrested the exchanger, the main scammer remained abroad. The exchanger was released due to lack of criminal intent, and a civil lawsuit against them for unjust enrichment was rejected at filing. The judge indicated that even if accepted, such cases rarely succeed.
The analysis highlights key obstacles: the "criminal procedure takes precedence" principle often blocks civil suits until criminal proceedings conclude; if a criminal judgment orders restitution, further civil claims are barred; and bypassing criminal reporting to file civilly usually results in the case being referred back to police, wasting time. Ultimately, when crypto crimes are involved, civil relief is extremely difficult. The more viable path remains criminal prosecution, despite its own challenges, as civil victories are exceptionally rare in practice.
marsbit9 ч. назад
