Asset Recovery Archieven - Hupkes cs advocaten

Case law review blockchaintracing and freezing crypto account 2026

ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2026:1482 Rechtbank Midden-Nederland, 31-03-2026, C/16/605902 / KG ZA 26-30 Summary proceedings. Default. Disclosure of name and address information and freezing of account by platform of crypto currency due to possible investment fraud (boiler room fraud) user account. International civil law. Jurisdiction article 6 under e Rv. Dutch law applicable (cryptoexchange: Bitfinex). ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2026:7315 Rechtbank Den Haag, 18-03-2026, c/09/694014 HA ZA 25-972 Jurisdiction of Dutch court for boiler room fraud. Jurisdiction incident of Kyrrex UK Ltd which [...]

Hupkes advocaten2026-04-14T20:01:56+01:0014 April 2026|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Preservatieve Attachment, Uncategorized|

News on the Kyrrex case

In this news brief, we are posting links to news stories about the Kyrrex case. The Kyrrex case is about whether a cryptoexchange has a duty of care to third parties who have been victims of boiler room fraud, where the fraudsters use Kyrrex to launder the stolen cryptocurrency. There is no case law yet that clarifies the liability of exchanges when fraudsters use an exchange. One peculiarity is that Kyrrex is a "nested service." [...]

Hupkes advocaten2026-04-16T15:56:18+01:0011 April 2026|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability|

Case law overview blockchaintracing & freezing crypto accounts 2025

Several crypto fraud verdicts and LE orders were again published in the past year. Several cases involved swaps, a clear trend in crypto fraud cases. Swaps are increasingly common in cryptocurrency fraud because swaps have a concealment effect: blockchain tracing goes as far as the blockchain address of the swap platform, which must provide data to establish what the stolen assets are converted into and where they are sent (the "dataset"). By 2025, several judges [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-12-27T17:51:49+01:0027 December 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings, Uncategorized, Unlawful Act|

Nested services and liability in crypto fraud: a blind spot in the chain

Increasing role of nested services in crypto fraud In recent crypto fraud cases, we observe a clear trend: nested services play an increasingly prominent role in trading crypto assets obtained from fraud. These services receive crypto currency from fraudsters, sell it through accounts on major exchanges to bona fide third parties, and then distribute the proceeds to a hidden user of the nested service. These users remain out of view to the exchange on which [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-05-01T21:09:40+01:002 May 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Duty of Care Banks, European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability, Preservatieve Attachment, Unlawful Act|

Turning point in bank fraud case law?

Victims of bank fraud who lose their money due to unauthorized payment transactions often face an uphill battle against banks. Evidence is often lacking about how fraudsters authorized the payments, which reduces the likelihood of a successful lawsuit. Past challenges In the past, it was difficult for victims to win their case, especially if they could not prove how the payments were authorized. Judges require victims to explain exactly how the fraud was carried out [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-29T15:44:02+01:0029 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Liability, Unlawful Act|

Recovering stolen crypto: the final steps

In our previous blogs, we outlined how stolen or fraudulently misappropriated cryptocurrency can be traced using blockchaintracing. We showed how we successfully obtained multiple "freezing orders" from Dutch courts in 2023 and 2024. A high-profile example was the case against Huobi in 2023, in which the court imposed a fine of as much as €2,000,000 to ensure that the account of the fraudulent customer was actually frozen. In summary proceedings, we ask not only for [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-23T21:32:26+01:0023 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

Summoning defendant via email in crypto fraud cases

As an attorney in crypto fraud cases, I regularly see how crucial speed is in securing or not securing stolen digital assets. One of the biggest challenges here is the timely summoning of foreign cryptoexchanges for so-called "freezing orders" or pseudo-conservatory attachments. These legal tools are essential to freezing the accounts of suspected fraudsters, but traditional methods of summoning can be too slow in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency. Ordinary summoning is too slow Fraudsters [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-05T22:38:06+01:005 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

Cryptoexchange Kraken must make full disclosure about fraud

As a specialized firm in crypto fraud cases, we regularly see how victims struggle to recover their stolen digital assets. Although we have explained in previous blogs how accounts at cryptoexchanges can be frozen via a Dutch court order, even at foreign exchanges, this measure sometimes comes too late. Fraudsters have sometimes been able to clear accounts before any action can be taken. Every case is a race against the clock. An additional problem is [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-01-07T14:37:14+01:007 January 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Unlawful Act|

Blockchaintracing has come of age and helps with crypto fraud

Blockchain tracing has become an essential tool in the fight against crypto fraud in the past 2 years, especially when stolen funds are funneled through blockchain networks. The transparency of the blockchain allows experts to track fraudulent transactions, even if they go through multiple addresses or complex routes. This creates legal opportunities to secure the stolen digital assets and crack down on fraudsters. Detection of exchanges and KYC data. Blockchaintracing can link specific blockchain addresses [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-04-15T07:25:04+01:0030 December 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

Case law overview blockchaintracing & freezing crypto accounts 2024

In 2024, several judgments have been rendered on crypto fraud, ordering cryptoexchanges to freeze accounts of (suspected) fraudulent users and to provide name and address details of these users. One of the challenges in these types of cases is the summoning of the defendant, who is often located in a (far) foreign country - often also in a country not party to the Hague Convention on service of process. In that situation, it can take [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-12-30T17:54:59+01:0030 December 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings|

The ‘ex parte’ order measure: a cross-border freezing order of cryptocurrency

As a specialized attorney in crypto-fraud cases, I increasingly see complex, cross-border cases where traditional legal means fail. A recent case illustrates how creative legal thinking and the flexibility of the Dutch legal system can lead to effective solutions for victims of international fraud. Traditional boiler room fraud using cryptocurrency as means of payment In this case, victims from he UK, my clients, were targeted by a sophisticated boiler room fraud. The scammers, believed to [...]

Hupkes advocaten2026-02-12T21:02:23+01:0014 December 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Duty of Care Banks, European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

The money mule: victim or accomplice?

A recent court case has again highlighted the complex role of the so-called "money mule" in fraud cases. Geldezel argued a defense in the proceedings. What is a money mule? A money mule is someone who makes their bank account available to criminals to channel stolen money. This is often done under the guise of a lucrative side income or under pressure from the criminals. The money mule receives money in his account from a [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-08-23T18:34:22+01:0023 August 2024|Asset Recovery, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Invoice & CEO Fraud, Liability, Unlawful Act|

Applicable law in international investment fraud: preferably Dutch

International cases present specific challenges, particularly in the area of applicable law. A recent ruling shows how the legal system deals with these challenges. When victims of investment fraud live abroad, while the recipient of the funds is based in the Netherlands, the question arises as to which law applies. The law of the victim's country of residence (in this case, the United Kingdom) is then the main rule under private international law because the [...]

Hupkes advocaten2026-02-12T21:03:36+01:0027 July 2024|Asset Recovery, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability, Summary Proceedings, Uncategorized, Unlawful Act|

Domestic cryptoexchanges: conservatory attachment or injunctive freezing order?

When recovering stolen cryptocurrency or establishing recourse to crypto that is nothing more than a new guise of stolen bank assets after fraud, speed is of the essence. It is therefore crucial to have adequate legal tools in place to secure assets. An important question here is: can you impose a regular conservatory attachment on a Dutch cryptoexchange such as Bitvavo, or do you have to rely on a 'freezing order' through the summary proceedings [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-04-27T20:21:29+01:0027 April 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|