A UK resident, Ping Fai Yuen, has accused his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, of stealing 2,323 Bitcoin from his Trezor hardware wallet in 2023 by allegedly recording his seed phrase and wallet access details. In a High Court judgment by Justice Cotter filed last Tuesday, lawyers for Yuen said Li and her sister covertly filmed him to obtain the seed phrase and then moved about $176 million worth of BTC to 71 different addresses.
After being alerted by his daughter to a suspected plot, Yuen installed audio recording equipment and says he captured Li discussing the theft and methods to transfer large sums without alerting banks or authorities. Court papers say there have been no transactions from the implicated addresses since Dec. 21, 2023. Yuen reported the alleged theft to police soon after the last transfer; officers arrested Li and seized several cold wallets and watches. She was later released on bail while the investigation continued, and authorities later said there would be no “further action pending new evidence.”
In November, almost two years after the alleged theft, Yuen sought an asset preservation injunction to freeze cryptocurrency linked to Li, formally declare his ownership of the Bitcoin, and secure its return or an equivalent fiat award. He also said he was monitoring the addresses and feared they had been targeted in a dusting attack. Dusting attacks involve sending tiny amounts of crypto to wallets to trace activity and identify owners for follow-up scams like phishing.
A separate September 2024 incident reportedly involved a violent confrontation between Yuen and Li; Yuen faced charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault, to which he later pleaded guilty.
Justice Cotter wrote that Yuen has a high probability of success given the gathered evidence and Li’s failure to offer any alternative explanation for the Bitcoin movements. “In my judgment the claimant has demonstrated a very high probability of success,” Cotter said, noting the warning Yuen received about Li’s intentions, damning transcripts, and that searches of Li’s property uncovered equipment purportedly capable of exfiltrating the Bitcoin. He recommended an early trial, citing security risks and Bitcoin’s value volatility, and said a case management hearing will be set if the parties cannot agree on next steps.
