Articles - Hupkes Lawyers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Turning point in bank fraud case law?

Victims of bank fraud who lose their money due to unauthorized payment transactions often face an uphill battle against banks. Evidence is often lacking about how fraudsters authorized the payments, which reduces the likelihood of a successful lawsuit. Past challenges In the past, it was difficult for victims to win their case, especially if they could not prove how the payments were authorized. Judges require victims to explain exactly how the fraud was carried out [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-29T15:44:02+01:0029 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Liability, Unlawful Act|

Recovering stolen crypto: the final steps

In our previous blogs, we outlined how stolen or fraudulently misappropriated cryptocurrency can be traced using blockchaintracing. We showed how we successfully obtained multiple "freezing orders" from Dutch courts in 2023 and 2024. A high-profile example was the case against Huobi in 2023, in which the court imposed a fine of as much as €2,000,000 to ensure that the account of the fraudulent customer was actually frozen. In summary proceedings, we ask not only for [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-23T21:32:26+01:0023 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

CFD broker Trade Capital Markets must refund deposit to duped investor

A Cypriot CFD broker operating in the Dutch market must refund the deposit to an investor that will evaporate its assets. This is the outcome of proceedings at the North Holland District Court. The case concerns a dispute between a retail investor and Trade Capital Markets (TCM) Ltd, an online broker based in Cyprus. Our client entered into an agreement with TCM in January 2020 to invest in CFDs (Contracts for Differences). In the period [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-13T19:14:17+01:0013 March 2025|Contracts for Difference (CFD Providers), Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Judgments, Uncategorized, Unlawful Act|

Summoning defendant via email in crypto fraud cases

As an attorney in crypto fraud cases, I regularly see how crucial speed is in securing or not securing stolen digital assets. One of the biggest challenges here is the timely summoning of foreign cryptoexchanges for so-called "freezing orders" or pseudo-conservatory attachments. These legal tools are essential to freezing the accounts of suspected fraudsters, but traditional methods of summoning can be too slow in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency. Ordinary summoning is too slow Fraudsters [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-03-05T22:38:06+01:005 March 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

Cryptoexchange Kraken must make full disclosure about fraud

As a specialized firm in crypto fraud cases, we regularly see how victims struggle to recover their stolen digital assets. Although we have explained in previous blogs how accounts at cryptoexchanges can be frozen via a Dutch court order, even at foreign exchanges, this measure sometimes comes too late. Fraudsters have sometimes been able to clear accounts before any action can be taken. Every case is a race against the clock. An additional problem is [...]

Hupkes advocaten2025-01-07T14:37:14+01:007 January 2025|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Unlawful Act|

Blockchaintracing has come of age and helps with crypto fraud

Blockchain tracing has become an essential tool in the fight against crypto fraud in the past 2 years, especially when stolen funds are funneled through blockchain networks. The transparency of the blockchain allows experts to track fraudulent transactions, even if they go through multiple addresses or complex routes. This creates legal opportunities to secure the stolen digital assets and crack down on fraudsters. Detection of exchanges and KYC data. Blockchaintracing can link specific blockchain addresses [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-12-30T21:02:59+01:0030 December 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

The ‘ex parte’ order measure: a cross-border freezing order of cryptocurrency

As a specialized attorney in crypto-fraud cases, I increasingly see complex, cross-border cases where traditional legal means fail. A recent case illustrates how creative legal thinking and the flexibility of the Dutch legal system can lead to effective solutions for victims of international fraud. Traditional boiler room fraud using cryptocurrency as means of payment In this case, victims from he UK, my clients, were targeted by a sophisticated boiler room fraud. The scammers, believed to [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-12-14T20:56:33+01:0014 December 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Duty of Care Banks, European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

Ruling on unfair debt collection practices

A recent judgement in a case we brought against a collection company shows that it is possible to take action against abuses in the collection industry. The case Our client, an entrepreneur in the art business, engaged a collection agency to collect an unpaid invoice. The collection agency outsourced the work to an outside attorney, who successfully completed the proceedings. However, after receiving the awarded amount in the collection company's third-party account, our client was [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-11-09T15:20:06+01:009 November 2024|Debt Collection, Liability, Unlawful Act|

The money mule: victim or accomplice?

A recent court case has again highlighted the complex role of the so-called "money mule" in fraud cases. Geldezel argued a defense in the proceedings. What is a money mule? A money mule is someone who makes their bank account available to criminals to channel stolen money. This is often done under the guise of a lucrative side income or under pressure from the criminals. The money mule receives money in his account from a [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-08-23T18:34:22+01:0023 August 2024|Asset Recovery, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Invoice & CEO Fraud, Liability, Unlawful Act|

Applicable law in international investment fraud: preferably Dutch

International cases present specific challenges, particularly in the area of applicable law. A recent ruling shows how the legal system deals with these challenges. When victims of investment fraud live abroad, while the recipient of the funds is based in the Netherlands, the question arises as to which law applies. The law of the victim's country of residence (in this case, the United Kingdom) is then the main rule under private international law because the [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-07-27T15:57:10+01:0027 July 2024|Asset Recovery, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Liability, Summary Proceedings, Uncategorized, Unlawful Act|

Information for victims of BUNQ bank fraud

This page is intended as a blog with the latest information for victims of Bunq bank account fraud. The latest news can be found at the top. Watch here the broadcast of Kassa about fraud at Bunq Listen here to the podcast "The robbed customers of Bunq" of NOSJune 14: Bunq's new security measuresMeanwhile, the new package of measures introduced by Bunq to control the frauds is known in more detail. An overview can be [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-06-14T21:29:11+01:009 July 2024|Duty of Care Banks, Financial law, Fraud & Deception, Liability, Unlawful Act|

Domestic cryptoexchanges: conservatory attachment or injunctive freezing order?

When recovering stolen cryptocurrency or establishing recourse to crypto that is nothing more than a new guise of stolen bank assets after fraud, speed is of the essence. It is therefore crucial to have adequate legal tools in place to secure assets. An important question here is: can you impose a regular conservatory attachment on a Dutch cryptoexchange such as Bitvavo, or do you have to rely on a 'freezing order' through the summary proceedings [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-04-27T20:21:29+01:0027 April 2024|Asset Recovery, Cryptocurrencies, Financial law, Preservatieve Attachment, Summary Proceedings, Unlawful Act|

European bank attachment in practice

The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO), based on Regulation (EU) No. 655/2014, allows creditors to make cross-border attachments of bank assets in EU member states. The instrument simplifies securing claims by filing an application in the national court, without the need for a separate procedure abroad. An EAPO attachment is particularly valuable in cases where swift action is required to prevent a debtor from hiding assets to frustrate recovery. The CFD broker case: seizure of [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-03-29T15:53:18+01:0029 March 2024|Asset Recovery, Contracts for Difference (CFD Providers), European Bank Account Preservation Order, Financial law, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms, Preservatieve Attachment, Uncategorized|

Do investors and CFD brokers have a conflict of interest in contracts for difference?

A lot goes wrong when investing in CFDs. Our firm has handled more than 60 cases in recent years against foreign providers of CFD investments. The AFM and the Fraud Helpdesk warn about unreliable providers. What exactly is the problem with these investment products? What is a CFD? Many inexperienced investors who get into "contracts for differences" think that a CFD is a type of stock with a buyer and a seller. The seller [...]

Hupkes advocaten2024-03-12T08:28:16+01:0012 March 2024|Contracts for Difference (CFD Providers), Financial law, Investment Fraud & Boiler Rooms|

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