Ningxia court mediates virtual currency entrusted investment dispute; the judge indicates that relevant contracts after 2017 may be deemed invalid

ME News message. On April 1 (UTC+8), the Yinchuan City Xingqing District People’s Court in Ningxia recently concluded a civil and commercial dispute arising from delegated investment in virtual currency. In the case, the plaintiff entrusted funds to the defendant for virtual currency investment; after the defendant failed to return the investment funds upon the plaintiff’s request, the plaintiff sued in court on the grounds of “unjust enrichment.” After reviewing the case, the presiding judge determined that this case is, in fact, a relationship of a delegated contract, and clarified to both parties the litigation risks and the legal pros and cons. Ultimately, this led to the plaintiff withdrawing the lawsuit against some of the defendants, with the other defendant refunding the investment principal, and the case was successfully resolved through mediation. At the same time, the judge reminded that, according to the Supreme People’s Court’s judicial views, a delegated investment contract signed after the People’s Bank of China and seven other departments issued a risk announcement for virtual currencies on September 4, 2017, will be deemed invalid due to the illegality of the agency matters; investors should carefully assess the related legal risks. (Source: Foresight News)