In the United Kingdom, a man has filed a lawsuit in the High Court against his wife, accusing her of stealing over 2,323 Bitcoins worth approximately $172 million. According to him, his wife gained access to the seed phrase for the cryptocurrency wallet through hidden video recordings and audio surveillance set up in their home.
This is reported by Business • Media
Case Circumstances and Details
According to court documents, in 2023, the man’s Trezor hardware wallet held over 2,323 BTC. On August 2 of the same year, all the Bitcoins were withdrawn without his knowledge and distributed among 71 different addresses. The victim claims that his daughter warned him about possible theft attempts, after which he installed audio equipment in the house to gather evidence against his wife. However, as a result, both spouses began surveilling each other.
The case materials indicate that one of the audio recordings from July 29, 2023, contained a conversation about the location of the surveillance cameras. The woman was able to secretly record several interactions between her husband and the wallet, trying to ascertain the seed phrase. The recordings also mention phrases such as: “the Bitcoins were transferred to me” and “take everything.” The plaintiff believes that the sister of the accused may have been involved in the operation.
It is claimed that the woman “secretly recorded” him in an attempt to gain access to the seed phrase.
After discovering the cryptocurrency’s disappearance, a conflict arose between the couple, during which the man assaulted his wife. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of causing bodily harm.
Legal Proceedings and Court Ruling
The police detained the accused and seized several cold cryptocurrency wallets; however, they later released her on bail, stating that the investigation would not continue without new evidence. In November 2025, the plaintiff sought to freeze the assets, aiming to obtain a court ruling recognizing his ownership of the Bitcoins or their equivalent in British pounds.
The judge emphasized that the plaintiff has a “very high likelihood of success” in the case, and given the volatility of cryptocurrency, the matter should be expedited. Immediately after the incident, the man officially divorced the accused.