Hong Kong Finance KOL Huo Liaosen Was Surreptitiously Filmed by His Spouse Installing Hidden Cameras in His Luxury Home, Capturing Cold Wallet Operations and Stealing 2,323 Bitcoins Worth About $160 Million. The Case Has Been Transferred to the High Court in the UK, with the Judge Stating the Plaintiff Has a Very High Chance of Winning.
(Background Recap: MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Holdings Surpass BlackRock! Only 21,000 BTC Left to Overtake)
(Additional Context: 13 Years Ago, Bitcoin’s Ancient Whale Transferred 1,000 BTC Back to Binance, Holding Only 30%)
If this story were made into a drama, it would definitely be a highly controversial family suspense thriller in early 2026 — the protagonist isn’t an ordinary person but Hong Kong’s well-known financial KOL Huo Liaosen, real name Yuan Binghui, once dubbed the “Teen Stock God.”
He made his fortune early through stock trading and Bitcoin. His radio program “Spark Ignites the Prairie” was hugely popular among Hong Kong residents, and he authored investment books like “I Borrowed My First 10 Million from Buffett.”
However, no one expected that his recent legal case would reveal the most sensational family drama.
Spouse Surreptitiously Films to Steal Mnemonic and Bitcoin
In 2023, Huo Liaosen’s divorce case reached the UK High Court. He accused his spouse, Li Huanyong, who was in the process of separation, and her sister, of secretly installing hidden cameras in their Brighton mansion to record him entering his cold wallet PIN and mnemonic, then directly transferring 2,323 BTC.
This case was recently reported by Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily, Hong Kong Economic Journal, and UK’s Daily Mail and The Times, sparking heated discussion among netizens in Hong Kong and beyond.
The incident traces back to 2023. At that time, Huo Liaosen and Li Huanyong were in the midst of divorce proceedings. The trigger was surprisingly their eldest daughter, who privately told Huo Liaosen that her mother might be interested in Bitcoin.
Huo Liaosen became alert. Instead of confronting her directly, he secretly installed recording devices at home to gather evidence.
According to court documents, the recordings captured conversations between Li Huanyong and her sister. Li said, “The Bitcoin has already been transferred to me, but will anyone find out you took it?”
A more critical and accusatory conversation: “It’s fine, just take everything.”
They also discussed money laundering risks, using a second wallet, and whether the police were watching… These conversations later became key evidence in court.
Huo Liaosen testified that Li Huanyong secretly installed hidden cameras in their mansion specifically to record his operations on the Trezor cold wallet.
This cold wallet was offline, protected by a six-digit PIN, and secured with a 24-word mnemonic phrase. Once the mnemonic was obtained, anyone could restore the entire wallet on another device, instantly transferring the funds.
Later, the 2,323 BTC was indeed moved — transferred in batches to 71 different addresses, and has remained untouched since. Dissatisfied, Huo Liaosen confronted Li Huanyong, which led to his arrest. He admitted to one count of actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. He immediately reported to the police, accusing Li Huanyong of stealing the coins. In December, Li Huanyong was detained by UK police but was released on bail. During the search, authorities found 10 cold wallets, 5 sets of mnemonics, and several luxury watches, some confirmed to be Huo Liaosen’s property. However, with no new evidence, the case was not further pursued at that time.
As of March 2026, the case has been officially transferred to the UK High Court for trial. Presiding Judge Cotter, after reviewing the recordings, stated that the plaintiff’s evidence was “devastating” and expressed that the likelihood of winning was extremely high.
Given the extreme volatility of cryptocurrency prices, the judge approved a worldwide freezing order to ensure the assets’ value through early proceedings. Although the defendant, Li Huanyong, submitted an affidavit firmly denying knowledge of the asset transfer, the court allowed the civil lawsuit to proceed.
Huo Liaosen’s Rise and Controversies
However, behind Huo Liaosen’s business success are numerous controversies.
He graduated in 2003 from Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in Accounting. Early in his career, he was a commentator on Hong Kong radio and financial magazines. During the 2007–2008 financial crisis, his accurate market predictions (such as bearish on the property market and bullish on gold and yen) made him famous, earning him the nickname “Teen Stock God.” He published several best-selling investment books, hosted financial programs, and accumulated initial capital through personal stock investments.
Later, he invested in Bitcoin, elevating his wealth to a new level.
In his testimony at the UK High Court, Huo Liaosen claimed he began accumulating and holding Bitcoin as early as 2010–2013 (when prices were a few dollars to hundreds of dollars).
Holding 2,323 BTC to this day, at a valuation of $100,000 per BTC, the total would be $232.3 million. At the current price of around $70,000, it’s approximately $163 million.
However, between 2017 and 2018, he was accused of promoting a virtual currency vending machine that lost money.
Multiple media reports revealed that Huo Liaosen heavily promoted a cryptocurrency called HE15 on social media and at seminars. Investors paid about HKD 20,000–30,000 to buy a “cloud mining machine,” which didn’t need to be taken home but was operated at a hosting center, generating virtual currency daily, exchangeable for BTC or ETH on Huo Liaosen’s affiliated platforms.
Starting mid-2018, the price of HE15 plummeted sharply, and exchange channels were blocked. Investors found they couldn’t withdraw their assets or the value had nearly zeroed out. Some discovered that the “high-performance mining machines” were actually low-spec hardware sold at prices far above market value.
In early 2019, over 100 victims sought help from Hong Kong’s Democratic Party and reported to police, with total losses estimated at over HKD 20 million.
In April 2019, Hong Kong’s Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) took action, arresting several related company personnel on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
Huo Liaosen was reportedly a key opinion leader (KOL) for that project but later moved to the UK.
