Japan. Swiss counsel. Bern register 2018
Those who took the coins will return. Unless someone locks them.
石橋を叩いて渡る。Tap even a stone bridge before crossing. Careful checking is not timidity; it is craft.
In Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, fake platforms and romance-investment rings have reached people who work diligently and save. Being deceived is no disgrace. The disgrace would be paying the same people twice.
How the loss usually happens
In Japan these networks most often arrive through LINE, Telegram or matching apps: a platform promising weekly returns, an "investment adviser" speaking fluent Japanese, or an acquaintance abroad. The first withdrawal goes smoothly to build trust. Then the platform vanishes, or demands a "tax" before payouts.
Report to the police cybercrime consultation desk or your nearest police station and keep the acceptance number. Check the Financial Services Agency list of unregistered operators. The report documents the crime. It does not freeze coins at a platform abroad.
What a Swiss court can do
If the coins still sit at a custodial exchange, a Swiss interim order, backed by a forensic report tying your transaction hashes to a hosted wallet, can ask for a freeze. A support ticket gives you a number. A court order gives you a freeze. A freeze is a lock, not a payment.
Trace first, then freeze, then repatriate to a bank account under your control. The fee is 12.5 percent, invoiced only after your bank is paid. No recovery, no fee. We never ask for payment in crypto.
Who calls after a loss
Anyone who calls knowing the amount you lost and offering recovery for upfront fees is the second scam. Victim lists are sold. This desk never calls first, never works via Telegram, and never asks for a seed phrase, a private key, AnyDesk, or a crypto payment.
Sascha Christener, MLaw, has been on the attorney register of the Canton of Bern since February 2018. Search the name on Bern's public register before sending documents. It is the strongest verification available.
How to send the file
In English or Japanese, whichever is comfortable. What happened, the platform name, transaction hashes or transfer references, and your acceptance number if you have one. The evaluation is free, confidential, and written. If the file has no endpoint a court can reach, you will be told early and honestly, not after invoices.
Report a case
Name, email and phone are required. Do not send seed phrases or private keys.