In January of this year, the English High Court issued an order in the case of Joseph Keen Shing Law v Persons Unknown and Huobi Global Limited which required a cryptocurrency exchange, Huobi, to transfer assets into England and Wales in order to facilitate the enforcement of a judgment against them. This decision predates Piroozzadeh v Persons Unknown and Others [2023] EWHC 1024 (Ch). Whereas in that case, the High Court discharged an interim proprietary injunction against the crypto exchange Binance, in this case, the claimant sought an order requiring the transfer of cryptocurrency held outside the jurisdiction into the courts control.

The court noted that even though Huobi had cooperated with the claimant to prevent access to accounts by those who had defrauded them, this could change and the court had no control over the exchange as it was based outside England and Wales. The court held that exceptional circumstances warranted such an order.