A woman is under scrutiny for allegedly pilfering £180 million in Bitcoin from her husband by secretly installing cameras within their residence to monitor his passwords.
During divorce discussions, Fun Yung Li reportedly took the cryptocurrency from her spouse Ping Fai Yuen, as revealed in court proceedings.
Yuen, aged 44, claims that his wife set up a covert CCTV system that recorded the locations of his security passwords at their home located in a prestigious area of Brighton, according to reports from the Times.
The businessman is currently taking legal action against his wife and her sister-in-law for the cryptocurrency, which is valued between £160 million and £180 million and encompasses 2,323 Bitcoin.
As per Mail Online, this cryptocurrency was stored on a digital ledger, with its access key secured in a digital 'cold wallet' that is disconnected from the internet and requires a six-digit PIN for access.
Yuen asserts that he became aware of his wife's alleged theft in July 2023 after his oldest daughter expressed her concerns about it.
He subsequently installed audio recording devices in their home, claiming he can indisputably prove that Li 'secured the seed phrase and removed the Bitcoin'.
Reportedly, recordings featured his wife discussing the installed cameras, with one particular transcript including the dialogue: 'The bitcoin has transferred to me but can it be seen that you have taken it?'
Additionally, Yuen claims he has recordings where his wife expressed apprehension about facing police scrutiny over possible money laundering, given the large amounts stored in the digital wallet, as indicated by the Times.
Yuen contends that Li moved his cryptocurrency to 71 other blockchain accounts, allegedly with assistance from her sister, Lai Yung Li.
Confronted by Yuen in August 2023, he was arrested, later pleading guilty to charges of actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.
In retaliation, Yuen reported the alleged Bitcoin theft, leading to his wife's arrest in December of the same year, as reported by the Times.
Following a search of their home, authorities discovered ten cold wallets, five recovery phrases, and various watches.
However, police have stated that they will not take any further action unless new evidence arises.
Li, originally from China and now residing in Hong Kong, has filed a legal declaration claiming she was 'unaware of any information required to be provided in response' to inquiries regarding the cryptocurrency transfer.
During the court proceedings, Mr. Justice Cotter remarked that Yuen had shown 'a very high probability of success' in his claims against his wife.
He noted, 'The evidence suggests he was alerted to [his wife's] intentions, the transcripts are incriminating, and necessary equipment to exfiltrate the bitcoin was found in [the wife's] residence.'
Mr. Justice Cotter added, 'She has had numerous opportunities to present her account but has chosen not to.'
Yuen is pursuing the retrieval of the Bitcoin or its equivalent value, along with a freezing order on any cryptocurrency assets possessed by his wife and her sister.
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