BVI liquidators open claims door for Chen Zhi victims after US failures
- Liquidators for 30 BVI companies tied to Prince Group founder Chen Zhi said scam victims from any jurisdiction, including China, could eventually file claims against the estate.
- The US Justice Department has rejected claims on a separate $15 billion Bitcoin seizure, making the BVI process a more open recovery route.
- Parties claiming to act for Chen, now in Chinese custody, are challenging the liquidators in multiple jurisdictions.
Victims of scams tied to Chen Zhi, the Prince Group founder held in China after extradition from Cambodia, received hope of potential claims against the estate, according to court-appointed liquidators for 30 British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies linked to Prince Group.
That update ignites hopes of a possible recovery for Chen Zhi’s victims regardless of their country, including China. It also represents a clearer path to recovery compared to the US, where the Trump Justice Department has knocked down victims’ attempts to make claims on the Bitcoin it seized from scam operations tied to Zhi.
What did Chen Zhi liquidators tell victims?
Per comments shared with Caixin on October 28, the joint provisional liquidators noted that there was no process to file claims or distribution outlets yet.
However, they laid out the foundations for any potential future payout for victims if enough money is recovered to pay creditors when the case finally moves into full liquidation. In that scenario, the liquidators said they would adjudicate and distribute based on a claims procedure built under BVI insolvency law.
BVI insolvency is collective, and eligibility is not subject to claimants’ nationality or home jurisdiction.
Who is handling the Prince Group claims process?
The British Virgin Islands’ High Court appointed Paul Pretlove, James Drury and David Standish of the Interpath advisory firm as joint provisional liquidators on January 9, 2026. The liquidators’ role, per Interpath, is to trace and preserve assets so that creditors harmed by the alleged crimes can eventually reclaim some of their losses.
The appointment came after BVI Attorney General Dawn Smith, acting on a US bankruptcy filing, petitioned the court to wind the companies up on just and equitable grounds.
The January 5 application named Prince Global Holdings Limited and affiliates among the 30 listed entities.
According to Interpath, 28 of the listed firms were implicated in October 2025 sanctions that branded 146 Prince Group-linked targets as part of a transnational criminal organization. That designation came from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in coordination with the US Treasury’s OFAC and FinCEN.
The other two appeared in an October 14, 2025, civil forfeiture complaint filed in the US.
Is Chen Zhi fighting victims’ claims?
According to Caixin, citing the liquidators it spoke to, their appointment and actions have been challenged across several jurisdictions by people claiming to be representatives of Chen himself, Prince Group entities, or associated interests.
Chen is being held in China after his extradition from Cambodia in January 2026.
That fight reached a US courtroom. In Chapter 15 proceedings before the Southern District of New York bankruptcy court, Cosimo Borrelli, who says he is the sole director of most of the debtor companies, objected to recognition of the BVI case.
The court overruled him and recognized the BVI proceedings as the foreign main proceeding. Court papers note that Borrelli’s lawyers, Boies Schiller Flexner, also represent Chen in the New York forfeiture case.
Zhi’s US victims have lost claims to Bitcoin
The contrast with the US asset pool is sharp. The Justice Department made the largest asset forfeiture in its history when it seized about 127,271 BTC from the group in October 2025. The haul was worth roughly $15 billion at the time, with Bitcoin trading near its all-time high in that month.
The forfeiture is not final even though the coins have been in government custody since.
The DOJ has rejected claims filed by lawyers for hundreds of alleged victims, citing reasons such as a lack of specific evidence tying each case to the seized coins.
The BVI estate now looks like the cleaner path for victims to be heard.
Chen faces fraud and illegal gambling charges in China and up to 40 years if convicted in the US. Prince Group has denied wrongdoing. Cryptopolitan reported that Cambodia froze nearly $1 billion in assets belonging to Prince Group.
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FAQs
Who are the BVI liquidators and when were they appointed?
Paul Pretlove, James Drury and David Standish of advisory firm Interpath were appointed joint provisional liquidators over 30 Prince Group companies by the BVI High Court on January 9, 2026, following an application by BVI Attorney General Dawn Smith.
Can Chinese scam victims actually claim against the Prince Group estate?
The liquidators told Caixin that BVI insolvency is collective and does not restrict claims by nationality, so victims from any jurisdiction, including China, could file if the case reaches full liquidation and recovers enough funds, though no claims process has been set up yet.
Why can't victims recover from the $15 billion in seized bitcoin?
The US Justice Department seized about 127,271 bitcoin in October 2025 but, according to the ICIJ, has rejected claims from lawyers for hundreds of alleged victims, and the forfeiture has not been finalized.
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Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
