With Prince Group's assets under investigation, how can Chinese telecom fraud victims recover their money?

Written by: Daii

A bank transfer receipt can prove which account funds left, while on-chain transactions leave behind addresses, amounts, and timestamps; neither alone typically explains which Prince Group affiliate ultimately received the funds or bears legal liability. On October 28, the Joint Provisional Liquidators told Caixin that if a formal liquidation proceeds and sufficient funds exist, Chinese victims of telecom fraud and online gambling may potentially file claims; however, a claims filing and distribution process has not yet been established. (Caixin interview with the Joint Provisional Liquidators; US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

1. Three Dates Correspond to Three Different Procedural Stages

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the jurisdiction of incorporation for the 30 companies involved, and its corporate insolvency framework determines which corporate asset pool victims must claim against. On January 9, 2026, the BVI Court appointed three Joint Provisional Liquidators to 28 companies linked to US and UK sanctions, plus two additional companies mentioned in the US civil forfeiture complaint. Their role is to take over company affairs, investigate accounts, and trace and preserve assets; this appointment affects the range of potential debtors and assets victims may face in the future, but does not initiate creditor verification or compensation payouts. (BVI Government Announcement; Interpath Appointment Notice)

On June 11, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recognized the BVI proceedings under Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code, allowing the provisional liquidators to seek assistance and coordinate recoveries in the United States. This order did not adjudicate that each traced asset belongs to the 30 companies, nor did it merge the US criminal case, the Bitcoin civil forfeiture case, and the BVI corporate assets into a single compensation pool. (Provisional Liquidators' US Legal Team Procedural Memo; US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

The new information from October 28 only advances to “potential future filing”: the liquidators state that no claims filing and distribution process currently exists, and such a claims procedure, ruling on requests, and distribution will only be established once a formal liquidation is reached and sufficient funds are available. Potential Chinese victims will not be excluded solely based on nationality or location; individuals must still connect their losses to a specific debtor and pass the liquidators’ review. (Caixin Interview; BVI Cross-Border Creditor Procedure Guidance)

2. Filing Eligibility and Claim Recognition Are Two Separate Hurdles

Section 209 of the BVI Insolvency Act governs claims filing in a formal winding-up. Creditors must submit a written request; the liquidator may require sworn confirmation, supplementary facts, and documentary evidence, and may accept a claim in full, in part, or reject it entirely. Victims therefore need to separately prove the loss amount, the payment trail, and why a specific wound-up company bears contractual, tortious, or other legal liability. (Section 209 of the BVI Insolvency Act; BVI Claims Filing Practical Guidance)

While overseas creditors filing in the BVI generally face no additional procedures, this general rule does not mean Chinese victims have already secured notice rights or recognized claims in this case. Sections 446 and 447 of the statutory text reside in Part XVIII, which has not yet come into force, and cannot be used to prove that Chinese victims today possess the cross-border participation or notice rights outlined therein. The company names, forms, submission addresses, and deadlines for this case still await official notification. (BVI Insolvency Act; Carey Olsen’s Commentary on Part XVIII and Overseas Creditors)

Paragraph 37 and its accompanying footnotes in the US civil forfeiture complaint provide a concrete example: the government alleges that a California victim transferred over $400,000 worth of crypto assets between July and August 2021, passing through three addresses; subsequently, over $350,000 worth of Tether USD (USDT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin transferable on-chain) entered another address allegedly monitored by Chen Zhi. Transaction records help prove payments and track destinations, but the on-chain trail of USDT still must be connected to the property or legal liability of a specific BVI company; the entire narrative constitutes allegations by the US government, not adjudicated facts. (Paragraph 37 and Footnotes of the US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

3. 127,000 Bitcoins and BVI Corporate Assets Must Be Calculated Separately

Another US civil forfeiture complaint targets approximately 127,271 bitcoins, stating these assets are held by the US government. The approximately $15 billion figure cited by the Department of Justice reflects the market valuation at the time of its October 2025 announcement and fluctuates with crypto prices; the complaint also fails to prove that the entire batch of bitcoins constitutes insolvency estate of the 30 BVI companies, or has been earmarked for Chinese victims. (US Department of Justice Press Release; US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

Even if a company enters formal liquidation and holds assets, the statutory order prescribed in Section 207 will still impact ordinary creditors: liquidation expenses and statutory preferential claims must be settled first, followed by distributions to other recognized claims; if funds within the same rank are insufficient, they are paid pro rata. If a company retains assets equivalent to only 20% of the total recognized ordinary claims after prior expenditures, creditors in the same rank would theoretically receive only about a 20% distribution; this illustrative calculation explains the rule and does not predict the actual ratio in this case. (Section 207 of the BVI Insolvency Act; BVI Winding-Up Distribution Guidance)

Outcomes may halt at various stages: recovered assets are proven owned by third parties; fraud losses are validated but cannot be linked to a specific company’s liability; claims are recognized but insufficient assets remain; or distributions occur only after asset ownership, corporate liability, and claims are all confirmed. Documents capable of materially altering expectations include the formal winding-up order, distributable assets per company, total recognized claims, and distribution notices; group-level asset announcements cannot substitute for these foundational denominators. (Caixin Interview; BVI Claims and Distribution Practical Guidance)

4. What Can Be Constructed Now Is a Verifiable Personal Financial Timeline

Victims can begin from first contact with the counterparty, preserving by date the app or website names, counterparties’ account IDs, promised terms, each receiving account or on-chain address, transaction amounts, historical returns, failed withdrawals, and police report records. Bank statements prove fiat payments, exchange logs and transaction hashes prove where crypto assets were sent from, complete chat histories and platform screenshots illustrate the solicitation process; original documents, exported records, and full context are generally easier to verify than cropped forwarded screenshots. (Section 209 of the BVI Insolvency Act; Fund Tracing Examples in the US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

When organizing, add two columns to each piece of material: “What it proves” and “How it connects to a specific company”. An unfamiliar account claiming to be a Prince Group employee merely proves that statement was made; company registration records, bank collection entities, platform agreements, fund tracing documents, or binding judgments are what may further substantiate identity and liability. When a company cannot be identified, preserve original leads and do not rewrite or delete intermediary accounts independently. (BVI Claims Filing Practical Guidance; US Civil Forfeiture Complaint)

Once official notifications arrive, verify company full names, case numbers, deadlines, submission addresses, and required forms through the BVI government, court, or provisional liquidation body. At this stage, there is no public claims filing and distribution process; any claims of “internal allocations,” “early locked compensation,” or paid access to the asset pool cannot replace official documentation; do not surrender wallet private keys, recovery phrases, or remote control permissions. Materials allow claims to enter review, but do not guarantee claim recognition, payout timing, or distribution ratios. (BVI Government Announcement and Liquidator Contact Information; Caixin Interview)