{"id":"court_sdny_644_0","court":"SDNY","case_no":"23-cr-00118","doc_number":644,"sub_number":0,"doc_type":"ORDER","filed_date":"2025-04-04","title":"UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,","summary_zh":"第三方没收异议申请——美国诉 Ho Wan Kwok(郭文贵)案,SDNY 1:23-cr-00118 ECF #644(2025年4月4日提交)。澳大利亚投资机构Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd依据联邦刑事诉讼规则32.2及21 U.S.C. § 853(n)提出经宣誓核实的申请,请求法院就其在Silvergate银行一账户被扣押资金中的权益举行听证,主张该部分资金应从对被告Yanping Wang(王燕平)的初步没收令中剔除,理由是其代表旗下基金投资者以信托方式持有该资金,属无辜所有人。","summary_en":"Third-party forfeiture ancillary petition — United States v. Ho Wan Kwok (Miles Guo), SDNY 1:23-cr-00118, ECF No. 644 (filed April 4, 2025). Australian investment firm Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd filed a verified petition under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2 and 21 U.S.C. § 853(n) seeking a hearing to adjudicate its interest in funds seized from a Silvergate Bank account, arguing that portion of the funds should be excluded from the preliminary order of forfeiture entered against defendant Yanping Wang because Archiwoods held the funds in trust for its fund investors as an innocent owner.","body_en":"# UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK\n\n### UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,\n\n*Plaintiff*,\n\nv.\n\nHO WAN KWOK, a/k/a \"Miles Guo,\" a/k/a \"Miles Kwok,\" a/k/a \"Guo Wengui,\" a/k/a \"Brother Seven,\" a/k/a \"The Principal,\"\n\nKIN MING JE, a/k/a \"William Je,\" and\n\nYANPING WANG, a/k/a \"Yvette,\".\n\n*Defendants*.\n\nCase No. 1:23-cr-00118-AT\n\n**VERIFIED PETITION OF ARCHIWOODS CAPITAL PTY LTD FOR A HEARING TO ADJUDICATE THE VALIDITY OF PETITIONER'S INTEREST IN CERTAIN PROPERTY LISTED IN PRELIMINARY ORDER OF FORFEITURE**\n\n**[FED. R. CRIM. P. 32.2; 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)]**\n\nComes now non-defendant Petitioner ARCHIWOODS CAPITAL PTY LTD\n\n(\"Petitioner\" or \"Archiwoods\"), by and through its counsel, Louis A. Pellegrino, to petition this Court pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2 (\"Rule 32.2\") and Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(n) (\"§ 853(n)\") for a hearing to adjudicate the validity of Petitioner's interest in certain property, described more specifically below, and an Order amending this Court's Preliminary Order of Forfeiture entered January 7, 2025, against defendant Yvette Wang (\"Wang\"), to award the referenced property to Petitioner and not forfeit it to the United States. As explained below, Petitioner is the rightful owner of the property within the meaning of § 853(n) because Petitioner has a right, title, or interest in the property, and such right, title, or\n\ninterest renders the order of forfeiture invalid in part because the right, title, or interest was vested in Petitioner rather than the defendant or was superior to any right, title, or interest of the defendant at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to the forfeiture of the property. Petitioner states as follows:\n\n1. Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd, is an Australian company (Australian Company Number 136 522 211 (\"Archiwoods\") and holds Australian Financial Services License (\"AFSL\") number 337968.\n\n2. By this Petition, Archiwoods seeks to recover USD \\$8,894,370.00 (the \"Subject Funds\") of the USD \\$89,992,861.75 formerly on deposit in account number 5090042770 at Silvergate Bank (\"Silvergate 2770\"), held in the name of \"Hamilton Opportunity Fund SPC\" (\"Hamilton SPC\") and seized by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (\"FBI\") pursuant to a duly authorized warrant on or about September 18, 2022 (CATS No. 23-FBI-000074). Archiwoods invested the Subject Funds in Hamilton SPC on or about June 2, 2022, by depositing the Subject Funds into Silvergate 2770.\n\n3. This Petition is filed in response to the government's online publication of notice, which commenced on February 6, 2025, and is therefore timely.\n\n4. Archiwoods is registered in Australia as a Proprietary Limited company. As the holder of an AFSL, it specializes in providing comprehensive financial services including trustee, responsible entity, custodial or depository services, funds management, and investment consulting services.\n\n5. As a licensed private equity fund in Australia, Archiwoods is permitted to manage investment funds. Using the particular investment involved here as an example, upon identifying what it believed to be a viable investment presenting acceptable risk, Archiwoods established a\n\nSpecial Purpose Vehicle (\"SPV\") fund. Potential investors were solicited to invest in the fund through distribution of an application form, an investment/information memorandum (\"IM\"), and an Information Option Memorandum (\"IOM\"), which explained the specific investment option details, the investment structure and a risk assessment. Potential investors were required to submit a completed application form and a certified copy of an acceptable form of identification as part of Archiwoods' KYC and verification process. Approved potential investors were sent a confirmation email with instructions to transfer the funds to be invested as explained in the application. Once the investments were collected, Archiwoods transferred the investment funds as outlined in the IM and IOM.\n\n6. In Australia, this type of investment is called a Managed Investment Scheme (\"MIS\") or a Managed Investment Trust (\"MIT\"), and is also known as a \"pooled licensed investment vehicle.\" Such vehicles allow multiple investors to contribute money or money's worth in exchange for an interest or units in the scheme or trust. In this case, investors obtained units in the Archiwoods MGH Investment Option. The investment was operated and overseen by Archiwoods, acting as the Trustee (or \"responsible entity\"), and Archiwoods Investment Management (\"AIM\") acting as the \"fund manager.\" AIM is authorized by Archiwoods Capital to act as fund manager and the two entities share directors and shareholders. Investors in the MGH Investment Option had no day-to-day control over the operation or management of the investment.\n\n7. On or about January 12, 2022, Archiwoods created an SPV Fund called Archiwoods Investment Value Fund (the \"Master Fund\") which had several sub–Unit Classes (\"Investment Options\"), each offering exposure to a different investment made by the Master Fund. This allowed Investors to acquire Units in each investment option within the Master Fund\n\nwhich would entitle them to share in the returns generated by the Master Fund. In this case, the MGH Investment Option was established as the sub-Unit Class for investment in the Hamilton M&A Fund SP (\"Hamilton M&A\") investment. The IM for the Master Fund was issued on January 12, 2022. The IOM was issued on February 14, 2022.\n\n8. As explained in the IOM, the MGH Investment Option would open on February 14, 2022, and required a minimum investment of USD \\$500,000. The target offer amount (that is, the total to be invested) was USD \\$10,000,000. The investment strategy was to directly invest in Class B shares of Hamilton M&A, a segregated Portfolio of Hamilton Opportunity Fund SPC, the stated intent of which was to acquire up to 90% ownership of Mercantile Global Holdings, Inc, which owned 100% of Mercantile International Bank Corp.\n\n9. The Hamilton M&A offering was fully described in an Offering Memorandum dated January 20, 2022. Archiwoods received subscription documents from Hamilton Fund Manager David Fallon on January 22, 2022, and returned the completed paperwork shortly thereafter. Archiwoods then had further communications with Fallon and Hamilton's administrator, NAV Consulting, to set up the account.\n\n10. The Archiwoods investor funds for the MGH Investment Option were collected by Archiwoods according to the general MIS procedures described above; that is, they were first transferred by individual investors into the Master Fund and then, once collected, invested in the MGH Investment Option account. On June 2, 2022, Archiwoods transferred USD \\$8,894,370 of investor funds from the MGH Investment Option account into Silvergate 2770, according to the Payment Instructions provided by Hamilton. On June 7, 2022, NAV Consulting confirmed receipt of the transfer. Thereafter, Archiwoods requested and received confirmation that Archiwoods' \"account [had] opened in the system and the trade [had] been booked.\"\n\n11. Also on July 19, 2022, Archiwoods asked NAV Consulting for the \"expected date [when] the deal would be settled.\" Fallon responded on July 21, 2022, advising \"The paperwork is still going through for the purchase of the bank. The fund needs regulatory approval to take on the banking license transfer into the funds [sic] name. This is quite a lengthy onboarding approval process and has taken longer than expected.\" At that time, Fallon's response did not seem facially unreasonable, given that similar bank M&A cases in Australia had taken more than 12 months, even after regulatory approval was granted. Moreover, Fallon estimated that the deal would be finalized by the end of July 2022. Fallon assured Archiwoods he would advise of a firm launch date and further assured Archiwoods that its \"investment [was] safe.\" There were no further communications from NAV Consulting or Fallon until October 15, 2022.\n\n12. The FBI seized the contents of Silvergate 2770 on September 18, 2022, totaling USD \\$89,992,861.75. Petitioner is informed and believes, and thereon alleges, that the Subject Funds were included in the funds seized from the account.\n\n13. Despite being under a legal and fiduciary obligation to do so, Hamilton failed to advise Archiwoods of the action taken against the funds in Silvergate 2270, which included the Subject Funds. On October 15, 2022, in an email attaching a letter to investors dated October 13, 2022, Fallon stated that Hamilton was \"working to resolve some issues in the acquisition of the Digital Bank,\" and promised a further update \"as soon as progress is made.\" The letter included no mention of the seizure of investor funds. During this period, Archiwoods continued to follow up with standard market procedures, assuming – in reliance upon its communications with Fallon and others representing Hamilton – that regulatory approval was taking longer than expected.\n\n14. There were no further communications from Hamilton until March 21, 2023, when Archiwoods received an email from NAV Consulting advising that it would no longer be servicing Hamilton.\n\n15. On March 22 and April 3, 2023, Archiwoods emailed William Je and Fallon asking about the effect of NAV Consulting's withdrawal and the status of the investment. On April 3, 2023, Hamilton provided an \"investor update\" by email, attaching a \"Customer Disclosure Statement.\" In the Statement, Hamilton stated that \"certain monies held by the fund remain subject to a court order granted by the District Court for the Southern District of New York, in proceedings that remain under seal.\" There was no mention of the fact that the referenced order was a seizure warrant or that the funds had been restrained pursuant to a Court order more than eight months prior to the disclosure. The Disclosure also failed to reveal that the funds had been transferred into a separate account controlled by the government, leaving the false impression that the funds remained in place at Silvergate. In the last paragraph of the April 3 Statement, Hamilton falsely assured its investors that its \"focus [was] to keep you as fully informed as possible in relation to the Order affecting the Fund.\"\n\n16. On May 4, 2023, Archiwoods emailed Je, Fallon and others, asking for another update, but received no reply. The next notification provided to Archiwoods was an email dated June 13, 2023, attaching a second \"Customer Disclosure Statement.\" This statement revealed that the funds had been seized by the government, but described the seizure as \"a temporary civil seizure\" that the government had acquired through sealed filings, and that Je, the \"ultimate beneficial owner of the Fund,\" had been federally indicted in a charging instrument that was \"not … a coherent document capable of straight forward [sic] analysis.\" The statement further advised that Je was the subject of a separate civil complaint filed by the SEC.\n\n17. In early October 2023, Archiwoods discovered through its own efforts that Mercantile Global Holdings, Inc. (\"Mercantile\"), the 100% owner of the digital bank the Hamilton M&A Fund was allegedly seeking to acquire, had commenced an arbitration against Hamilton M&A more than a year earlier – in September 2022 – but the fact of the arbitration had not been disclosed by Hamilton to the investors. On October 9, Archiwoods sent an email to Je, Fallon and others seeking information about the status of Archiwoods' investment, and asking specifically about the Mercantile arbitration proceeding in which an award had been issued on September 13, 2023. Archiwoods also asked about the status of its invested funds and whether they were amongst the seized funds. Approximately seven hours later, Archiwoods received an email update attaching a Statement concerning the Mercantile arbitration and a copy of the September 13, 2023 award.\n\n18. On October 10, Archiwoods again asked that Hamilton confirm the status of Archiwoods' invested funds, including whether the funds remained in the Silvergate account or had been transferred to some other account as a result of the seizure, and whether the funds were at risk of being lost, noting the provision in the Offering Memorandum that holders of Class B shares (which represented the entirety of the Archiwoods investment) would not be subject to pre-acquisition risk. After numerous requests for information, Hamilton provided a letter purportedly written by counsel stating that (1) the investor funds on deposit at Silvergate Bank had been frozen on September 18, 2022, and thereafter transferred on October 4, 2022, to one or more accounts controlled by the government; (2) the funds seized were believed to include Archiwoods' full investment; (3) Hamilton would resist any effort to use investor funds to pay the arbitration award, but could not guarantee that would not occur since the funds were in the hands of the government; but (4) nevertheless suggesting that Archiwoods consider seeking legal advice on its own to recover the seized funds from the government directly. The letter also advised that Hamilton had a deadline of December 6 to respond to Mercantile's request to the Court that it affirm the arbitration award, which was ultimately granted. Archiwoods continued to enquire about various issues, including Hamilton's ability to pay any arbitration award using its own resources, but Hamilton declined to answer.\n\n19. In an email of March 17, 2025, Hamilton advised Archiwoods that the government had provided notice of forfeiture proceedings and urging the investors to file claims and petitions for remission to recover their investment funds.\n\n20. From September 2022, when Archiwoods' invested funds were seized, until the present, Hamilton and its representatives repeatedly and consistently deceived its investors through acts of omission and affirmative misrepresentations. They provided overly optimistic expectations that they knew were not achievable, obscured the truth at every turn, and gave knowingly false assurances.\n\n21. Wang entered a guilty plea on or about January 6, 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Count One) and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering (Count Two), each in violation of 18 United States Code, Section 371, and each of which was committed during the period commencing before June 2, 2022 and ending on March 15, 2023. As part of her sentence, Wang was ordered to forfeit her interest, if any, in any and all property, real and personal, that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense charged in Count One, and any and all property, real and personal, involved in the offense charged in Count Two, or any property traceable to such property, including the funds seized from Silvergate 2770, specifically USD \\$89,992,861.75 on deposit in account number 5090042770 at Silvergate Bank seized on September 18, 2022. ECF 488 at 3,\n\nsubparagraph (d). A forfeiture money judgment in the sum of USD \\$1,400,000,000 was also entered against Wang as part of her sentence.\n\n22. The facts set out above demonstrate that Archiwoods is both the owner of the funds invested and a victim of the underlying offenses of conviction within the meaning of Archiwoods had a right, title, or interest in the Subject Funds which renders the order of forfeiture invalid as to the amount of the Subject Funds because the Archiwoods right, title, or interest was vested in Archiwoods rather than the defendant or was superior to any right, title, or interest of the defendant at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to the forfeiture.\n\n23. Archiwoods holds title to the invested funds as a trustee for its client investors pursuant to Australian law, United States law, and the agreements entered into between Archiwoods and its clients. Moreover, Archiwoods is a victim of the underlying offenses because it holds a present, legally cognizable, valid and good faith interest in the Subject Funds and incurred a pecuniary loss as a direct result of the commission of the offenses underlying the forfeiture.\n\nWHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests and petitions this Court:\n\n- a. to amend the January 7, 2025 Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture to exclude the Subject Funds, to which Petitioner has a superior interest as an innocent owner;\n- / / /\n\n/ / /\n\n- b. for a hearing pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(n) on any disputed matters; and\n- c. for such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.\n\nDate: April 4, 2025\n\nRespectfully submitted,\n\nDENTONS US LLP\n\ns/Louis A. Pellegrino 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020-1089 Email: louis.pellegrino@dentons.com Phone: (212) 768-6700 Fax: (212) 768-6800\n\n## VERIFICATION\n\nI, Xuebing Wang, am an authorized representative of Petitioner Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd, holding the title of Director, and I am duly authorized to make this declaration in support of the above Petition. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that I have read the Petition and believe the facts stated therein to be true, either because I have personal knowledge of said facts, or am informed and believe that they are accurate.\n\nExecuted this 4th day of April, 2025 at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.\n\nIllegible signature (cursive)\n\n---\n\nXuebing Wang","body_zh":"UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK（美国纽约南区联邦地区法院）\n\nUNITED STATES OF AMERICA（美利坚合众国），\n\n原告，\n\n诉\n\nHO WAN KWOK（郭文贵，又名“Miles Guo”、“Miles Kwok”、“Guo Wengui”、“七哥”、“校长”），\n\nKIN MING JE（余建明，又名“William Je”），及\n\nYANPING WANG（王雁平，又名“Yvette”），\n\n被告。\n\nCase No. 1:23-cr-00118-AT\n\nARCHIWOODS CAPITAL PTY LTD（Archiwoods资本有限公司）关于就初步没收令所列特定财产中请愿人权益的有效性进行裁决听证的经核实请愿书\n\n[FED. R. CRIM. P. 32.2; 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)]\n\n非被告请愿人 ARCHIWOODS CAPITAL PTY LTD（“请愿人”或“Archiwoods”）现由其代理律师 Louis A. Pellegrino 代表，依据《联邦刑事诉讼规则》（Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure）第 32.2 条（“Rule 32.2”）及《美国法典》第 21 编第 853(n) 条（“§ 853(n)”），向本法院提出请愿，请求举行听证以裁决请愿人对下文详述之特定财产所享权益的有效性，并请求作出一项命令，修改本法院于 2025年1月7日 针对被告 Yvette Wang（王雁平，“Wang”）作出的《初步没收令》（Preliminary Order of Forfeiture），将上述财产判归请愿人所有，而不予以没收归美利坚合众国。如下文所述，请愿人属于 § 853(n) 含义内的财产合法所有权人，因为请愿人对该财产享有权利、所有权或权益，且该等权利、所有权或权益使得该没收令部分无效，原因是该权利、所有权或权益在引发财产没收的行为实施之时已归属于请愿人而非被告，或优于被告的任何权利、所有权或权益。请愿人陈述如下：\n\n1. Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd 是一家澳大利亚公司（Australian Company Number（澳大利亚公司代码）136 522 211，“Archiwoods”），并持有编号为 337968 的 Australian Financial Services License（澳大利亚金融服务牌照，“AFSL”）。\n\n2. 通过本请愿书，Archiwoods 寻求追回原存放在 Silvergate Bank（Silvergate银行）账号为 5090042770（“Silvergate 2770”）、户名为“Hamilton Opportunity Fund SPC”（“Hamilton SPC”）的 USD $89,992,861.75 中的 USD $8,894,370.00（“标的资金”）；该账户资金由 Federal Bureau of Investigation（联邦调查局，“FBI”）特别探员于 2022年9月18日 或该日前后根据经正当授权的搜查令予以扣押（CATS No. 23-FBI-000074）。Archiwoods 于 2022年6月2日 或该日前后通过将标的资金存入 Silvergate 2770，投资于 Hamilton SPC。\n\n3. 本请愿书系针对政府于 2025年2月6日 开始的网络公告通知而提交，因此符合时效要求。\n\n4. Archiwoods 在澳大利亚注册为专有有限公司（Proprietary Limited company）。作为 AFSL 持牌机构，其专门提供综合金融服务，包括受托人、责任实体、托管或存管服务、基金管理以及投资咨询服务。\n\n5. 作为澳大利亚的持牌私募股权基金，Archiwoods 获准管理投资基金。以此处涉及的特定投资为例，在确定了其认为可行且风险可接受的投资项目后，Archiwoods 设立了一家特殊目的载体（Special Purpose Vehicle，“SPV”）基金。通过分发申请表、投资/信息备忘录（investment/information memorandum，“IM”）以及信息选项备忘录（Information Option Memorandum，“IOM”），招揽潜在投资者向该基金投资；该等文件阐述了具体的投资选项细节、投资架构及风险评估。作为 Archiwoods 的 KYC（了解你的客户）与核验流程的一部分，潜在投资者须提交填写完毕的申请表及获认可身份证明文件的核证副本。通过审批的潜在投资者会收到一封确认电子邮件，其中包含按照申请中所述划转拟投资资金的指引。投资款项归集完毕后，Archiwoods 按照 IM 和 IOM 的概述划转了投资资金。\n\n6. 在澳大利亚，此类投资被称为管理投资计划（Managed Investment Scheme，“MIS”）或管理投资信托（Managed Investment Trust，“MIT”），亦称为“集合持牌投资载体”（pooled licensed investment vehicle）。此类载体允许多名投资者出资或投入具有货币价值的资产，以换取该计划或信托中的权益或份额单位。在本案中，投资者获得了 Archiwoods MGH Investment Option（Archiwoods MGH 投资选项）中的份额单位。该投资由作为受托人（或“责任实体”）的 Archiwoods，以及作为“基金管理人”的 Archiwoods Investment Management（“AIM”）运营和监督。AIM 获 Archiwoods Capital 授权担任基金管理人，且两家实体拥有共同的董事和股东。MGH 投资选项的投资者对该投资的日常运营或管理没有控制权。\n\n7. 2022年1月12日 或该日前后，Archiwoods 设立了一家名为 Archiwoods Investment Value Fund（“母基金”）的 SPV 基金，该基金下设若干子份额类别（“投资选项”），每一类别均提供对母基金所做不同投资的敞口。这使得投资者能够认购母基金内部各个投资选项的份额单位，从而有权分享母基金产生的收益。在本案中，MGH 投资选项被设立为用于投资 Hamilton M&A Fund SP（“Hamilton M&A”）投资项目的子份额类别。母基金的 IM 于 2022年1月12日 发布。IOM 于 2022年2月14日 发布。\n\n8. 正如 IOM 中所说明，MGH 投资选项于 2022年2月14日 开放，要求最低投资额为 USD $500,000。目标要约金额（即拟投资总额）为 USD $10,000,000。投资策略为直接投资于 Hamilton M&A 的 B 类股份，Hamilton M&A 为 Hamilton Opportunity Fund SPC 的独立投资组合（segregated portfolio），其声明的目的为收购 Mercantile Global Holdings, Inc（持有 Mercantile International Bank Corp 100% 股权）至多 90% 的所有权。\n\n9. Hamilton M&A 的发售情况在日期为 2022年1月20日 的《发售备忘录》（Offering Memorandum）中进行了完整说明。Archiwoods 于 2022年1月22日 收到来自 Hamilton 基金经理 David Fallon 的认购文件，并在不久后寄回了填写完毕的文件。随后，Archiwoods 与 Fallon 以及 Hamilton 的行政管理人 NAV Consulting 进行了进一步沟通以开立账户。\n\n10. MGH 投资选项的 Archiwoods 投资者资金由 Archiwoods 按照上述常规 MIS 程序归集；即首先由单个投资者划入母基金，归集后存入 MGH 投资选项账户。2022年6月2日，Archiwoods 按照 Hamilton 提供的付款指引，将 USD $8,894,370 的投资者资金从 MGH 投资选项账户划入 Silvergate 2770。2022年6月7日，NAV Consulting 确认收到该笔划款。此后，Archiwoods 请求并获得了关于 Archiwoods 的“账户已在系统中开立且交易已被入账”的确认。\n\n11. 同样在 2022年7月19日，Archiwoods 向 NAV Consulting 询问“预计交易完成结算的日期”。Fallon 于 2022年7月21日 回复称：“收购银行的文件仍在办理中。基金需要监管批准才能将银行牌照过户到基金名下。这是一个相当漫长的准入审批流程，所花时间超出了预期。”当时，鉴于澳大利亚类似的银行并购案例即使在获得监管批准后也耗时超过 12 个月，Fallon 的回复从表面上看并无不合常理之处。此外，Fallon 预计该交易将于 2022年7月底 最终完成。Fallon 向 Archiwoods 保证他会通知确切的启动日期，并进一步向 Archiwoods 保证其“投资是安全的”。直到 2022年10月15日，NAV Consulting 或 Fallon 未再提供进一步沟通。\n\n12. FBI 于 2022年9月18日 扣押了 Silvergate 2770 账户内的资金，总计 USD $89,992,861.75。请愿人获悉并确信，且据此主张，标的资金包含在从该账户扣押的资金之中。\n\n13. 尽管负有法律和信义义务，Hamilton 仍未将针对 Silvergate 2270 账户内资金（包括标的资金）所采取的行动告知 Archiwoods。在 2022年10月15日 随附日期为 2022年10月13日 致投资者信函的电子邮件中，Fallon 表示 Hamilton 正在“努力解决收购数字银行中的某些问题”，并承诺“一旦取得进展”将作进一步更新。该信函完全未提及扣押投资者资金一事。在此期间，Archiwoods 继续遵循标准市场程序进行跟进，并信赖其与 Fallon 及代表 Hamilton 的其他人员的沟通，认为监管审批耗时超出了预期。\n\n14. 此后 Hamilton 未再有任何沟通，直至 2023年3月21日，Archiwoods 收到来自 NAV Consulting 的电子邮件，告知其将不再为 Hamilton 提供服务。\n\n15. 2023年3月22日 和 4月3日，Archiwoods 向 William Je 和 Fallon 发送电子邮件，询问 NAV Consulting 退出服务的影响以及该投资的现状。2023年4月3日，Hamilton 通过电子邮件提供了“投资者更新信息”，并随附一份《客户披露声明》（Customer Disclosure Statement）。在该声明中，Hamilton 声称“基金持有的某些款项仍受纽约南区联邦地区法院在仍处于封存状态的诉讼程序中作出的法院命令约束”。该声明未提及上述命令系扣押搜查令，亦未提及资金在该披露前八个多月就已根据法院命令被冻结扣押的事实。该披露还隐瞒了资金已被转移至由政府控制的单独账户这一情况，造成资金仍留在 Silvergate 的假象。在 4月3日 声明的最后一段中，Hamilton 虚假地向其投资者保证，其“重点是就影响基金的命令尽可能向各位提供全面信息”。\n\n16. 2023年5月4日，Archiwoods 向 Je、Fallon 及其他人发送电子邮件请求再次提供最新情况，但未收到回复。Archiwoods 收到的下一份通知是日期为 2023年6月13日 的电子邮件，随附第二份《客户披露声明》。该声明透露资金已被政府扣押，但将该扣押描述为政府通过封存文件获得的“临时民事扣押”，并称作为“基金最终实益拥有人”的 Je 在一份“并非……条理清晰、能进行直接分析的文件”的控告文书中遭到了联邦起诉。该声明还告知 Je 是 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission（美国证券交易委员会，“SEC”）提起的另一起民事诉讼的对象。\n\n17. 2023年10月初，Archiwoods 通过自身努力发现，据称 Hamilton M&A 基金寻求收购的数字银行的 100% 控股方 Mercantile Global Holdings, Inc.（“Mercantile”）早在一年多以前（即 2022年9月）就已对 Hamilton M&A 提起了仲裁，但 Hamilton 从未向投资者披露该仲裁事实。10月9日，Archiwoods 向 Je、Fallon 等人发送电子邮件，询问 Archiwoods 投资现状的信息，并特别询问了已于 2023年9月13日 作出裁决的 Mercantile 仲裁程序。Archiwoods 还询问了其投资资金的现状以及是否属于被扣押资金之列。大约七个小时后，Archiwoods 收到一封更新电子邮件，随附一份关于 Mercantile 仲裁的声明以及 2023年9月13日 裁决书的副本。\n\n18. 10月10日，Archiwoods（阿奇伍兹）再次要求Hamilton（汉密尔顿）确认Archiwoods所投资金的状况，包括该等资金仍留在Silvergate（银门）账户中还是因扣押已被转入其他账户，以及该等资金是否存在损失风险，并指出《发售备忘录》（Offering Memorandum）中关于B类股份（代表Archiwoods投资的全部）持有人不承担收购前风险的规定。在多次索取信息后，Hamilton提供了一封据称由律师撰写的信函，声明：(1) 存放在Silvergate Bank（银门银行）的投资者资金已于2022年9月18日被冻结，随后于2022年10月4日转入政府控制的一个或多个账户；(2) 据信被扣押的资金包括Archiwoods的全部投资；(3) Hamilton将抵制任何使用投资者资金支付仲裁裁决的企图，但鉴于资金掌握在政府手中，无法保证该情况不会发生；但 (4) 尽管如此，仍建议Archiwoods考虑自行寻求法律咨询，直接向政府追回被扣押的资金。该信函还告知，Hamilton向法院回应Mercantile（麦肯泰尔）要求确认仲裁裁决之请求的截止日期为12月6日，而该请求最终获得了准许。Archiwoods继续就各种问题进行询问，包括Hamilton是否有能力使用其自身资源支付任何仲裁裁决，但Hamilton拒绝回答。\n\n19. 在2025年3月17日的一封电子邮件中，Hamilton告知Archiwoods政府已发出没收程序通知，并敦促投资者提出申索和减免申请以追回其投资资金。\n\n20. 自2022年9月Archiwoods的投资资金被扣押时起直至目前，Hamilton及其代表通过不作为和积极的虚假陈述，一再且持续地欺骗其投资者。他们提供了明知无法实现的过分乐观的预期，处处掩盖真相，并故意作出虚假保证。\n\n21. Wang（王）于2025年1月6日左右就一项共谋实施电信欺诈罪（第一项罪名）和一项共谋实施洗钱罪（第二项罪名）进行认罪答辩，两项罪名均违反《美国法典》第18编第371条（18 United States Code, Section 371），且均是在自2022年6月2日之前开始至2023年3月15日结束的期间内实施的。作为其判决的一部分，Wang被命令没收其在任何及所有构成或来源于可追溯至实施第一项罪名所指控罪行之收益的不动产和动产中的权益（如有），以及卷入第二项罪名所指控罪行的任何及所有不动产和动产，或可追溯至该等财产的任何财产，包括从Silvergate 2770扣押的资金，具体为2022年9月18日扣押的存放于Silvergate Bank账号5090042770中的89,992,861.75美元。ECF 488第3页，第(d)分段。作为其判决的一部分，还对Wang作出了金额为1,400,000,000美元的没收金钱判决。\n\n22. 上述陈述的事实表明，Archiwoods既是所投资金的所有人，也是定罪所依据的基础罪行的受害者；Archiwoods对涉案资金享有权利、所有权或权益，这使得没收令就涉案资金的金额而言归于无效，因为在导致没收的行为发生时，Archiwoods的权利、所有权或权益已归属于Archiwoods而非被告，或者优于被告的任何权利、所有权或权益。\n\n23. 根据澳大利亚法律、美国法律以及Archiwoods与其客户之间订立的协议，Archiwoods作为其客户投资者的受托人持有投资资金的所有权。此外，Archiwoods是基础罪行的受害者，因为其对涉案资金享有现时的、法律上可认定的、有效的且善意的权益，并且由于实施构成没收基础的罪行而直接遭受了金钱损失。\n\n为此，呈请人谨此向本院提出请求和呈请：\n\n- a. 修改2025年1月7日的《同意初步没收令》，以排除呈请人作为无辜所有人享有优先权益的涉案资金；\n- / / /\n\n/ / /\n\n- b. 根据《美国法典》第21编第853条(n)款（21 U.S.C. § 853(n)）就任何争议事项举行听证会；以及\n- c. 给予法院认为公正和适当的其他及进一步的救济。\n\n日期：2025年4月4日\n\n谨此提交，\n\nDENTONS US LLP（大成美国律师事务所）\n\ns/Louis A. Pellegrino 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020-1089 电子邮件：louis.pellegrino@dentons.com 电话：(212) 768-6700 传真：(212) 768-6800\n\n核实声明\n\n我，Xuebing Wang（王雪冰），系呈请人Archiwoods Capital Pty Ltd（阿奇伍兹资本有限公司）的授权代表，担任董事职务，且我获正式授权作出本声明以支持上述呈请书。我根据美国法律在承担伪证罪处罚的前提下声明，我已阅读本呈请书，并相信其中所述事实真实无误，此系基于我对上述事实的亲自知悉，或基于我获悉并相信其准确无误。\n\n于2025年4月4日在澳大利亚维多利亚州墨尔本签署。\n\n无法辨认的签名（草书）\n\n---\n\nXuebing Wang","key_entities":["Je","forfeiture","853(n)","Guo","Kwok","William Je","Miles Guo","Ho Wan Kwok","Yanping Wang","Kin Ming Je","CIPA","Rule 32.2"],"ecf_references":[{"doc_number":488,"court":"SDNY"}],"word_count":2744,"status":"published","published_at":"2025-04-04 00:00:00","created_at":"2025-04-04","updated_at":"2026-08-23 07:31:24"}