Virtual Money Judicial Disposal: Challenges and Innovations

Recently, an article titled "Handling of Virtual Money Involved in Criminal Cases: Challenges, Innovations, and Judicial Responsibility" has attracted attention. The author of the article is from a certain city's Intermediate People's Court. Although the technical discussion is somewhat superficial, the perspective of a judicial practitioner still holds certain reference value.

The article first analyzes the concept, characteristics, and trading methods of Virtual Money. According to relevant regulatory provisions, there is no legal trading platform for Virtual Money in our country, and there is a lack of statutory evaluation and identification rules. This has led to many challenges in handling criminal cases related to Virtual Money in judicial practice. Traditional methods for investigation, freezing, and seizure are difficult to apply, and the valuation and disposal of the involved Virtual Money have also become problematic.

It is worth noting that the article argues that the judicial practice generally recognizes that virtual money has property attributes. However, this view is open to discussion. Currently, in civil judicial practice, courts usually do not accept cases involving investment or lending disputes related to virtual money. In contrast, there is a certain consensus in criminal judicial practice regarding the recognition of the value of virtual money.

In terms of disposal, the article mentions that it may be explored to entrust third-party institutions to liquidate overseas through compliant exchanges after filing with the relevant departments. For virtual money that endangers national security and public interest, it is recommended to destroy it.

However, these suggestions may face many obstacles in practical operation. First, according to current regulations, domestic institutions are not allowed to engage in the exchange of virtual money and fiat currency. Second, the feasibility of courts directly opening foreign currency accounts to receive proceeds from the disposal of overseas virtual money is also questionable.

In fact, the disposal of the virtual money involved in the case is mainly led by the public security organs. If the court wants to participate, it can consider keeping the virtual money involved in the case itself or directly signing a contract with relevant institutions during the disposal. However, it is not necessary for the court to open foreign currency accounts to receive disposal funds, as the existing model allows the disposal company to handle steps such as foreign exchange settlement and entry on behalf of the court.

Overall, the specificity of the disposal of the virtual money involved in the case mainly stems from our country's restrictions on the exchange of virtual money with legal currency. If future policies are adjusted, and even allow domestic licensed institutions to carry out related businesses, then the judicial disposal of the virtual money involved in the case will no longer be a challenge.