Prince Group Assets Are Being Traced: How Can Victims of Telecom Fraud in China Recover Their Money?

Written by: Daii

A transfer receipt can prove whose account the money left, and on-chain transactions can also leave addresses, amounts, and times; neither can usually independently show which Prince Group affiliated company ultimately received the money or bears legal liability. On October 28, the joint provisional liquidators told Caixin that if liquidation is entered in the future and sufficient funds are available, victims of telecom fraud and online gambling in China may file claims; no filing or distribution process has yet been established. (Caixin interview with the joint provisional liquidators；U.S. civil forfeiture complaint）

1. Three dates correspond to three different procedural statuses

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the place of incorporation of the 30 companies involved in the case, and its company liquidation regime determines which company asset pool victims may assert rights against. On January 9, 2026, the BVI court appointed three joint provisional liquidators for 28 companies related to U.S. and U.K. sanctions and another 2 companies named in the U.S. civil forfeiture complaint. Their functions are to take control of company affairs, investigate accounts, and trace and preserve assets; this appointment affects the debtors and asset scope that victims may face in the future, but it has not initiated claims review or restitution. (BVI government notice；Interpath appointment notice）

On June 11, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York recognized the BVI proceedings under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, allowing the provisional liquidators to seek assistance in the United States and coordinate recovery. The order did not adjudicate that each traced asset belongs to the 30 companies, nor did it combine the U.S. criminal case, the Bitcoin civil forfeiture case, and the BVI companies' assets into a single compensation pool. (Procedural note from the liquidators' U.S. legal team；U.S. civil forfeiture complaint）

The October 28 update only progressed to 'possible future filing': the liquidators said there is currently no filing or distribution process, and claims procedures will only be established, requests adjudicated, and distributions made if the companies enter liquidation and sufficient funds become available. Potential victims in China would 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 procedural note for foreign creditors）

2. Eligibility to file and claim acceptance are two separate gates

Section 209 of the BVI Insolvency Act applies to claims filed in formal liquidation. Creditors must submit written requests; the liquidators may require sworn confirmation, additional facts and documentary evidence, and may accept in full, accept in part, or reject claims. Victims therefore need to separately prove the loss amount, the payment path, and why a company in liquidation bears contractual, tortious, or other legal liability. (BVI Insolvency Act, section 209；BVI claims filing practice note）

Foreign creditors generally face no additional procedures when filing claims in the BVI, but this general rule does not mean Chinese victims have already obtained a right to notice in this case or an accepted claim. Sections 446 and 447 in the statutory text are located in Part 18, which is not yet in force, and cannot be used to show that Chinese victims today already have the cross-border participation or notice rights provided there. The company names, forms, submission address, and deadlines in this case still await formal notice. (BVI Insolvency Act；Carey Olsen note on Part 18 and foreign creditors）

Paragraph 37 and footnote of the U.S. civil forfeiture complaint provide a specific example: the government alleges that a California victim transferred more than USD 400,000 in crypto assets between July and August 2021, with funds passing through three addresses; subsequently, more than USD 350,000 in Tether USD (USDT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin that can be transferred on-chain) entered another address allegedly monitored by Chen Zhi. Transaction records help prove payment and trace destinations, but the on-chain path of USDT still needs to be connected to the assets or legal liability of a specific BVI company; the entire narrative consists of U.S. government allegations, not facts adjudicated as established. (U.S. civil forfeiture complaint, paragraph 37 and footnote）

3. The 127,000 Bitcoin and the BVI companies' assets must be calculated separately

Another U.S. civil forfeiture complaint refers to approximately 127,271 Bitcoin and states that these assets are held by the U.S. government. The approximately USD 15 billion cited by the U.S. Department of Justice is the market value at the time of the October 2025 announcement and will change with the price of the asset; the complaint also does not prove that the entire Bitcoin holding belongs to the liquidation estate of the 30 BVI companies or has been reserved for victims in China. (U.S. Department of Justice announcement；U.S. civil forfeiture complaint）

Even if a company enters formal liquidation and has assets, the order prescribed by Section 207 still affects ordinary creditors: liquidation expenses and statutory preferential claims are handled first, and then distributions are made to other admitted claims; if funds are insufficient within the same priority, payment is made pro rata. If, after prior expenses, a company has only assets equivalent to 20% of the total admitted ordinary claims, creditors in the same priority may in principle receive only about 20%; this calculation illustrates the rule and does not predict the distribution ratio in this case. (Section 207 of the BVI Insolvency Act；BVI Liquidation Distribution Explanation）

Outcomes may stop at different stages: recovered assets are proven to be owned by a third party; fraud losses are established but cannot be linked to a particular company's liability; claims are admitted but there are insufficient assets; or distributions occur after asset ownership, company liability, and claims are all confirmed. Documents that can materially change expectations include formal liquidation orders, distributable assets of each company, total admitted claims, and distribution notices; group-level asset news cannot substitute for these denominators. (Caixin Interview；BVI Claims and Distribution Practice Notes）

4. What can be completed now is a verifiable personal funds timeline

Victims can start from their first contact with the counterparty and save, by date, the app or website name, the counterparty's account, promises made, each receiving account or on-chain address, amounts, prior refunds, withdrawal failures, and police report records. Bank statements prove fiat payments; exchange records and transaction hashes prove where crypto assets were transferred out; complete chat logs and platform screenshots explain the inducement process. Original files, export records, and full context are usually easier to verify than cropped forwarded screenshots. (Section 209 of the BVI Insolvency Act；Examples of fund tracing in U.S. civil forfeiture complaints）

When organizing, add two columns to each item: 'What it proves' and 'How it connects to which company.' An unknown account claiming to be a Prince Group employee only proves that the counterparty made that statement; company registrations, bank receiving entities, platform agreements, fund-tracing documents, or final and enforceable judgments may further establish identity and liability. If the company cannot be determined, preserve the original clues and do not rewrite or delete intermediary accounts. (BVI Claim Filing Practice Notes；U.S. civil forfeiture complaint）

After a formal notice is issued, verify the company's full name, case number, deadline, submission address, and required forms through the BVI government, court, or provisional liquidator. At this stage, there is no publicly available claims filing or distribution process; any claims of 'internal slots,' 'early compensation lock-in,' or paid access to an asset pool cannot substitute for official documents. Do not provide wallet private keys, recovery phrases, or remote-control permissions. Materials can allow a request to enter review, but they do not guarantee claim admission, payment timing, or distribution ratios. (BVI government announcements and liquidator contact information；Caixin Interview）

Source: 深潮 TechFlow