Ping Fai Yuen alleges his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, stole bitcoin valued between 160 million and 180 million GBP (approximately 240 million USD) while they were discussing their divorce. Yuen is suing Li and her sister for the missing cryptocurrency.

Court documents state Yuen claims Li, along with her sister, secretly installed surveillance cameras and recorded him entering passwords at their family home in Brighton in 8/2023.

After his daughter informed him his wife was attempting to steal bitcoin, Yuen installed a hidden recording device. This device captured Li "discussing the surveillance cameras installed in the house". Yuen asserts that the recordings show Li "obtained the seed phrase and stole the bitcoin". A seed phrase is a randomly generated string of 12-24 security keywords used to access and restore a cryptocurrency wallet.

Businessman Ping Fai Yuen. Photo: The Sun

According to court documents, in 8/2023, Yuen's cryptocurrency was stored on a blockchain address protected by a private key. This key was kept in a "cold wallet" – a physical device called a "Trezor" not connected to the internet. The Trezor wallet was also protected by a six-digit PIN. However, anyone with Yuen's seed phrase could recreate the wallet on another device. Yuen claims his wife transferred his cryptocurrency to 71 other blockchain addresses.

Upon discovering the missing funds, Yuen confronted his wife and assaulted her. In 9/2024, Yuen was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.

After Yuen reported the cryptocurrency theft, police arrested Li in 12/2023. Officers searched the home and seized several watches, 10 cold wallets, and 5 seed phrases. Li was released on bail and later returned to her hometown of Hong Kong. Police confirmed no further action would be taken against Li until new evidence emerged.

In the lawsuit, Yuen asserts that the recording device captured Li discussing bitcoin at home. In one recording, Li allegedly said, "The bitcoin has been transferred to me, but will taking it be noticed?". In another recording, Li discussed shopping with cryptocurrency in Hong Kong.

In an affidavit, Li told the court she knew nothing about the incident. However, the judge stated that Yuen has a "very high probability of success" in the case and called the recordings "strong incriminating evidence", while Li refused multiple opportunities to present her side. Yuen is seeking the return of the bitcoin or its equivalent value and a global freezing order on the cryptocurrency assets of Li and her sister.

Tue Anh (according to Independent, The Sun)