A UK High Court judge has allowed a lawsuit concerning the alleged theft of over 2,323 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $172 million, to move forward. The case, filed by UK resident Ping Fai Yuen against his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, centers on claims that she used covert surveillance to steal the cryptocurrency from a hardware wallet.
According to court filings, Yuen alleges that in August 2023, Li used CCTV cameras in their home to secretly obtain the 24-word recovery phrase for his Trezor cold wallet. She then transferred 2,323 BTC without his permission. At the time of the alleged theft, the Bitcoin was worth just under $60 million; its value has since surged to around $172 million based on a price of roughly $74,000 per BTC.
The stolen funds were moved through several transactions and are now dispersed across 71 blockchain addresses not held on exchanges. Court records indicate the funds have not moved since December 21, 2023.
The dispute escalated when Yuen, warned by his daughter in July 2023 that Li might attempt to take his crypto, installed audio recording devices in the home. The submitted audio evidence allegedly captures discussions between Li and her sister, Lai Yung Li, about obtaining the seed phrase, with phrases such as “The Bitcoin has transferred to me” and “take all of it.” After discovering the transfer, Yuen confronted and assaulted Li, leading to his guilty plea in 2024 to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.
Police seized ten crypto cold wallets and recovery seeds during a search of Li's home, but authorities released her on bail and stated they would take no further action pending new evidence.
In a legal maneuver, Li previously asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the claim of conversion—a legal term traditionally applied to physical property—could not apply to digital assets like Bitcoin. While the judge agreed with this point, he ruled the case could proceed under different legal claims, allowing Yuen to potentially recover the Bitcoin if his allegations are proven.
In November 2025, Yuen filed for a proprietary asset preservation injunction to freeze Li's crypto assets, assert ownership of the Bitcoin, and recover the funds or their equivalent value in GBP. Presiding Justice Cotter noted in a March hearing that Yuen demonstrates a “very high probability of success,” citing the audio evidence and the presence of crypto-exfiltration equipment at Li's property. The judge emphasized the importance of an early trial given Bitcoin's market volatility.
The case is now set to proceed to trial, highlighting the ongoing adaptation of the UK's legal system to cryptocurrency disputes and potentially setting a precedent for future crypto-related asset claims within family conflicts.
