A graduate student at Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) has found himself trapped in a bureaucratic deadlock after selling physical gold on the second-hand platform Xianyu, with his funds frozen by police in one province while authorities in another have cleared him of any wrongdoing. The case has sparked debate over the legal concept of "bona fide acquisition" in criminal asset tracing.
Wang, a second-year master's student at BJTU, told reporters that the 124,000 yuan he received in June 2026 from selling physical gold has been frozen by the Fenghuo Police Station of the Linli County Public Security Bureau in Changde City, Hunan Province, on suspicion of involvement in fraudulent activities. All his other bank accounts have also been restricted as a precautionary measure. While the Beijing police issued a Notice of Decision Not to File a Case on June 30, concluding that Wang's transaction did not constitute a crime, the Hunan police have yet to provide a formal answer on whether to unfreeze his accounts after nearly three months, leaving his finances in limbo.
The impact of the freeze has extended far beyond the original bank card. Wang's savings accounts at China Merchants Bank and Industrial Bank have also been placed under anti-fraud controls, restricting all non-counter transactions and making it impossible for him to conduct online payments, transfers, or loan repayments. As a graduate student, the restrictions have forced him to shelve a planned internship because he cannot open a salary account, while tuition payments and daily living expenses remain disrupted.
According to Wang's account, on May 31, due to falling gold prices and limited collection premium, he listed gold coins and bars inherited from his father on Xianyu. A buyer contacted him the same day. On June 1, they agreed to meet at the Oriental New World shopping mall in Beijing for an in-person transaction. The buyer, claiming to be outside the city, sent a minor girl to collect the items and transfer payment to Wang. Immediately after the deal was completed, Wang discovered that his ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) card had been flagged as abnormal, with customer service confirming a freeze order from the Fenghuo Police Station in Hunan.
Wang reported the situation to the Dongfang Guangchang Police Station of the Dongcheng District Public Security Bureau in Beijing on the same day, where authorities confirmed the cross-provincial freeze. It was then that Wang realized the buyer he had been communicating with on Xianyu had gone completely silent. Subsequent investigation by Beijing police revealed that the girl who collected the gold had been paid solely to act as a courier, with no knowledge of the buyer's identity or any other connection to him.
Through communication with the Hunan police, Wang learned that the 124,000 yuan from his gold sale was identified as funds linked to a fraud case totaling more than 200,000 yuan, which had been transferred in three separate transactions. Wang's account was frozen because one of those transfers was connected to him, placing him squarely within the scope of the investigation.
At the heart of the dispute is whether the funds qualify for "bona fide acquisition" protection. Wu Jie, a senior partner at Guangdong Heye Yinhan Law Firm, told reporters that if a transaction is genuine and lawful, the individual involved may submit supporting evidence to the public security authorities—such as contracts, communication records, and delivery receipts—to prove they have not participated in any illegal or criminal activity and that the transaction was a normal civil matter. Based on this, they can apply for the timely unfreezing of their accounts. If the authorities are found to have frozen accounts unlawfully or failed to lift restrictions without justification, the affected party has the right to file a complaint with the People's Procuratorate at the same level, requesting legal supervision over the legitimacy of the investigation activities.
As of now, Wang's case remains unresolved, highlighting the challenges individuals face when navigating conflicting provincial police decisions and the absence of a unified resolution mechanism for cross-regional asset freezes.