Legal case Bank account frozen with millions of Chinese yuan after selling USDT. How to unfreeze?

Legal Dilemma Millions of Chinese Yuan Frozen from Bank Account After USDT Sale. How to Unfreeze?

Author: Sun Yujie, Li Xinyi; Source: Manquan Blockchain Legal Services

For friends in the cryptocurrency circle, selling the USDT (Tether) they hold is a very common thing. However, during the buying and selling of USDT, due to financial transactions, the seller’s bank card sometimes encounters a “unusual” state – restricted use, which is what we usually call freezing.

Today, I want to share a case with everyone. A friend in the cryptocurrency circle sold USDT, but after receiving the corresponding funds transferred by the other party, millions of yuan were frozen in their bank account. It took a lot of effort to finally unfreeze the funds.

01 Basic situation

In June of this year, Ms. Huang suddenly discovered that all the 1 million RMB in her bank account had been frozen and could not be used. After several inquiries, she found out that the freezing agency was Public Security A. Concerned, Ms. Huang quickly called Public Security A to inquire about her bank card freezing situation. She learned that the amount involved was mainly from two transactions of selling U, which were transferred by the victims and flowed through two layers into Ms. Huang’s account. Currently, it has been determined by the police as stolen funds.

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Although the amount involved accounted for only one-tenth, the entire 1 million yuan in Ms. Huang’s bank account was frozen. This is not a small amount, and Ms. Huang was very anxious. She tried to communicate with Public Security A multiple times and even wrote and submitted a statement explaining the situation herself. However, Public Security A informed Ms. Huang that her card cannot be unfrozen at the moment, and there is no expected time for unfreezing.

Helpless, Ms. Huang learned about our law firm from a friend and sought help from Lawyer Mankun.

02 Lawyer’s involvement

After several communications with Ms. Huang, Lawyer Mankun listed a checklist of materials based on the process of her selling U and other real-life situations. Next, based on the case and supporting materials, we studied and discussed the case and formulated a preliminary unfreezing service plan. After Ms. Huang confirmed the commission, we immediately had the first communication with the police, confirmed the basic information, understood the progress of the case, and scheduled a meeting with the police.

Lawyer Mankun then had more specific communication with Public Security A on-site. However, at this time, the attitude of the police remained tough, and they did not easily alleviate their suspicions towards Ms. Huang, and they had a relatively arbitrary understanding of cryptocurrency. After making some adjustments based on the communication, with the attitude of solving the problem, the lawyer had a phone conversation with Public Security A. We persisted with a sincere attitude, expressed our appeal, provided a comprehensive legal theory and practical analysis, and the attitude of the police began to soften. After the second meeting, the progress of unfreezing the card was significantly promoted, and Public Security A agreed to further communicate with Ms. Huang to unfreeze the funds.

Later, Ms. Huang and Officer A from the Public Security Bureau confirmed the steps and details to unfreeze the bank card and made a statement with the presence of a lawyer. Finally, the police agreed to unfreeze the card, and a week later, Ms. Huang’s frozen bank card was successfully unfrozen.

03 Solution

Ms. Huang’s successful unfreezing of the bank card relied on the correct solution approach, sufficient professional knowledge, and excellent communication skills.

First, we expressed our attitude towards appealing and unfreezing the frozen bank card to the police.

Second, we made a clear distinction between the involved and non-involved funds and provided corresponding viewpoints and reasoning.

Next, we provided different pieces of evidence and legal grounds for different parts of the frozen funds, and conducted detailed and comprehensive interpretations based on relevant policies and case circumstances.

Finally, we cooperated with the work of the police.

Therefore, although there were obstacles encountered during the unfreezing process, we ultimately achieved Ms. Huang’s initial goal and also validated the lawyer’s prediction.

A reminder in this case is that due to the timely unfreezing of Ms. Huang’s bank card, her card was not subject to supervision or restrictions from institutions or departments other than Officer A. After Officer A unfroze the card, it quickly returned to normal use.

04 Lawyer’s Tips

When you find out that your bank card is frozen, don’t panic. Based on today’s unfreezing case, Lawyer Mankun has a few suggestions for everyone applying to unfreeze their bank cards.

Step 1: Start with self-examination. Cardholders need to recall the recent transaction records of the frozen bank card and reflect on whether they have engaged in any improper or suspicious transactions. If necessary, they can retrieve and carefully examine the bank transaction records to comprehensively “examine” the fund flow of their frozen bank card.

Step 2: Contact the bank. If cardholders want to obtain specific information about why their bank card is frozen, the first entity to contact is the bank where the card was issued. Inquire about the full name and contact information of the agency responsible for freezing the bank card. Cardholders can first make a phone call inquiry, and if necessary, visit the bank in person. If it is only a restriction imposed by the bank system, providing the required documents and explanations according to the bank’s requirements is sufficient. If the bank card is frozen by the public security authorities, proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Contact the police. Based on the freeze information provided by the bank, gather detailed information about the reasons for the bank card freeze, the amount involved, specific transaction records, freeze duration, and conditions for unfreezing from the freezing authority.

After completing these three steps, you can consider how to apply for unfreezing based on the freezing situation. If the cardholder is unable to unfreeze the card on their own or does not have enough time or energy, they can seek assistance or delegate the task to a professional lawyer, just like what Ms. Huang did.

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