In 2023, Mr. Lin, a Cambodian merchant, entered into a cross-border transaction of used truck heads with a Pakistani businessman, with a total contract value of USD 1 million. The parties agreed staggered delivery and installment payment terms. After Mr. Lin paid part of the purchase price, the Pakistani counterparty delivered only the first batch of goods before cutting off all contact entirely. Goods worth approximately RMB 1 million remained undelivered. Since the payment receiving accounts involved in the case were located within China, Mr. Lin was referred to the "Stabilize Foreign Trade" Legal Service Group in Kunshan City and formally entrusted Pingqian Law Firm with full authority to handle the case.

  Upon accepting the mandate, the legal team of Pingqian Law Firm immediately conducted an in-depth case assessment and identified three major hurdles: difficulties in confirming the counterparty’s identity due to the Pakistani trader’s disappearance, ambiguous liable parties as the original contracting entity had de facto deregistered, and high barriers to asset tracing given cross-border capital flows and partially frozen accounts. The team accordingly formulated a litigation strategy: lock down domestic capital chains, trace related parties through corporate layers, and pursue joint and several liability in accordance with law.

  Taking the domestic receiving accounts as the breakthrough point, the firm issued formal inquiry letters to over ten authorities including customs, foreign exchange administrations, banks and third-party payment platforms to trace fund flows layer by layer. Meanwhile, the team sorted out joint liability relationships covering shareholders, liquidation responsible persons and actual controllers of the original contracting entity. Payment records, platform data and official inquiry documents scattered across various accounts were cross-verified to form a complete chain of evidence.After three years of sustained enforcement efforts, the liable parties finally agreed to repay all outstanding payments at a discounted rate in 2026, marking a full settlement with full recovery of the funds.

  This case fully demonstrates Pingqian Law Firm’s professional judgment and efficient execution capacity in cross-border asset recovery. Even if foreign counterparties vanish and the original contracting company has been deregistered, Chinese lawyers may lawfully initiate recovery proceedings as long as the receiving accounts involve domestic entities. By targeting domestic fund recipients and affiliated liable parties, we effectively fill the recovery gap left by missing overseas counterparties.  Adhering to the service philosophy of "commercial-minded legal practitioners", Pingqian Law Firm has long specialized in cross-border dispute resolution and international trade litigation, committed to providing professional legal services to safeguard secure and compliant cross-border trade and investment for Chinese and foreign enterprises.