In criminal cases involving property execution, the investigation and disposal of virtual currencies have always been a significant challenge in global judicial practice. Their anonymity, cross-border circulation, and technical complexity, combined with varying regulatory policies on the legality of virtual currency transactions in different countries, pose multiple challenges to traditional enforcement methods. However, recently, the People's Court of Baoshan District in Shanghai, under the guidance of the Shanghai High People's Court and in collaboration with the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, successfully disposed of over 90,000 FIL tokens, achieving a "domestic commission, overseas disposal, closed-loop return." This marks the first successful disposal of virtual currency in criminal property execution cases by Shanghai courts and provides a replicable example for judicial authorities in China and globally to tackle the challenges of executing virtual currencies.
I. Judicial Challenge: The "Three Highs and One Difficulty" of Virtual Currency Disposal
In criminal property execution cases, increasing efforts to recover stolen assets is an important way to protect the interests of affected individuals. However, the uniqueness of virtual currencies places their disposal in a predicament characterized by "three highs and one difficulty":
High Anonymity: The anonymity of virtual currency transactions makes it exceptionally difficult to trace the flow of funds and identify the actual controllers.
High Cross-Border Circulation: Virtual currencies can circulate freely worldwide, presenting challenges related to cross-border legal jurisdiction and cooperation for seizure, freezing, and disposal.
High Technical Complexity: Virtual currencies involve cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and cryptography, which require higher technical knowledge and operational capabilities from judicial personnel.
Legitimacy Issues: Different countries have varying determinations regarding the legality of virtual currency transactions, and the legality of these transactions is subject to financial regulatory policies, necessitating that the disposal process occurs within a strict compliance framework.
These factors make existing disposal methods ineffective, and how to comply with regulatory requirements while enhancing the actual effectiveness of asset recovery in criminal cases is a challenge faced by the People's Courts in conducting criminal property execution work.
II. Shanghai Model: Exploring an Innovative Mechanism of "Full-Chain Compliance and Multi-Party Collaboration"
In response to this cutting-edge judicial challenge, the Shanghai courts conducted thorough research and demonstration from the perspectives of policies, regulations, and operational pathways. Under the guidance of higher authorities, they collaborated with multiple units to explore a "full-chain compliance and multi-party collaboration" disposal mechanism, which includes:
Domestic Commission: The People's Court entrusts the virtual currency involved in the case to a pilot third-party institution for disposal.
Overseas Disposal: After the third-party institution provides performance guarantees, the overseas transaction phase is delegated to qualified overseas agents.
Compliance Platform: The overseas agents assist in completing the overseas disposal phase on a licensed virtual asset trading platform certified by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, at a price not lower than the average price of the 20 days prior to the transaction date.
Closed-Loop Return: After fulfilling the national foreign exchange management approval procedures, the converted funds are transferred to a dedicated account of the People's Court, which will subsequently be confiscated and turned over to the national treasury or returned to the victims according to the law.
The successful practice of the Baoshan District People's Court strictly followed the above guidelines and was completed under the guidance of the Shanghai High People's Court and in collaboration with the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. This marks the establishment of an operable and replicable compliance path for Chinese judicial authorities in the disposal of virtual currencies.
III. Milestone Significance: Providing a Model for Global Judicial Practice
The Shanghai court's successful disposal of over 90,000 FIL tokens is of milestone significance:
Solving Judicial Challenges: This is the first successful disposal of virtual currency in criminal property execution cases, providing valuable experience for addressing the long-standing challenges faced by judicial authorities regarding virtual currency execution.
Protecting the Interests of Affected Individuals: Increased efforts to recover stolen assets effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of affected individuals and enhance judicial credibility.
Demonstrating Judicial Innovation Spirit: This showcases the Shanghai court's proactive exploration and willingness to innovate in enforcement work, providing a replicable example for judicial authorities nationwide and globally.
Strengthening Regulatory and Judicial Collaboration: This successful disposal is inseparable from the guidance of the Shanghai High People's Court and the collaboration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, reflecting the close cooperation between regulatory and judicial authorities in addressing new types of crime.
Fortifying Financial Security: By disposing of virtual currencies in compliance with regulations, the flow of illegal funds has been effectively blocked, establishing a judicial defense line for maintaining national financial security.
IV. Looking Ahead: Continuing to Explore Innovative Execution Methods
In the next steps, the Shanghai court will continue to actively explore innovative execution methods, strengthen efforts to recover stolen assets in criminal property execution cases, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved, and enhance judicial credibility. With the deepening development of the digital economy, the role of virtual currencies in economic activities is becoming increasingly prominent, and related legal issues will continue to emerge. The Shanghai court's practice lays the foundation for addressing more complex virtual currency cases in the future and indicates that the governance capacity of Chinese judicial authorities in the field of digital assets will continue to improve.
Conclusion:
The Shanghai court's first successful disposal of over 90,000 FIL tokens, using the innovative model of "domestic commission, overseas disposal, closed-loop return," has successfully resolved the challenges of disposing of virtual currencies in criminal property execution cases. This is not only a significant breakthrough in judicial practice but also a solid step taken by China in the field of digital asset governance. It demonstrates to the world the wisdom and capability of Chinese judicial authorities to uphold legal boundaries while actively exploring innovative paths in the face of emerging technological challenges.
Related Reading: The Cyberspace Administration of China encourages cross-border payments with digital RMB, and the central bank accelerates cooperation with Indonesia.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
