Lawyers say they are having to grapple with divorcing spouses hiding their crypto holdings when a court tries to divide up their assets, making settlements more difficult.
Divorcing parties in England and Wales have to fill in a Form E, which requires “a full, frank and clear disclosure of all your financial and other relevant circumstances”. There is no specific part of the form for disclosing crypto assets. However, these must be included under “other assets”, say lawyers.
Alex Breedon, a partner at law firm Withers, said he had seen cases where crypto assets running into the millions of pounds were uncovered. Where one spouse has a suspicion that crypto assets are being hidden, he said that “the most fruitful hunting grounds” were bank statements and public crypto ledgers, along with forensic examination of physical devices.