A British court is examining the case of a man who accuses his wife of stealing over $172 million in bitcoin.
The High Court of Justice of the United Kingdom is examining a dispute over more than $172 million in bitcoin, in which Ping Fai Yuen accuses his estranged wife of stealing 2,323 BTC from a Trezor hardware wallet. According to the depositions, the transfer of the entire balance took place on August 2, 2023, without Yuen’s consent. The funds were subsequently distributed across 71 distinct addresses through a series of transactions. No movement has been recorded since then, with the last transaction dating back to December 21, 2023.
Yuen claims that his wife, Fun Yung Li, gained access to the wallet’s seed phrase through clandestine surveillance conducted inside their home. The depositions allege that Li secretly recorded him in order to obtain the phrase, possibly with the help of her sister, Lai Yung Li, who is also named as a defendant in the proceedings.
In the summer of 2023, Yuen’s daughter had already warned him in July that Li was attempting to access his bitcoins. Yuen subsequently installed audio recording devices in the residence. These recordings are cited as key evidence in the proceedings. In an excerpt referenced during the hearing, Li allegedly said “The Bitcoin has transferred to me” and “take all of it.” Another recording from July 29, 2023, describes Li discussing the placement of cameras and the location where Yuen stored his wallet credentials.
Upon discovering the transfer, Yuen confronted Li and physically assaulted her. He was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. Police opened an investigation into the alleged theft and arrested Li in 2023. During a search, officers seized 10 cold wallets, some of which were traced back to Yuen. Authorities later released Li after an interview in which she exercised her right to silence.
In November 2025, Yuen sought a precautionary asset preservation injunction, asking the court to confirm his ownership of the bitcoins, freeze Li’s digital assets, and order the return of the funds or an equivalent amount in British pounds. At the March 2, 2026 hearing, Judge Cotter determined that Yuen’s case has a high probability of success, citing the daughter’s warning, the audio transcripts, and the discovery of tools capable of accessing the wallet. “The evidence is that he was warned of what the First Defendant was seeking to do, the transcripts are damning,” Cotter wrote in his ruling.
The judge applied Occam‘s razor principle, noting that the simplest explanation is consistent with the available evidence and that Li has not presented her own version of events in the proceedings. Cotter also emphasized that Bitcoin’s price volatility makes a swift trial urgent, as the value of the disputed assets could change significantly over the course of the litigation.
