Chongqing court ruled that the contract for entrusting a pyramid scheme organization to purchase virtual currency was invalid

The People's Court of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area (Free Trade Zone) recently concluded a highly-watched case of a commission contract dispute involving a dispute over the commission of a pyramid scheme member to purchase virtual currency. The plaintiff Qin commissioned the defendant Zhou to register as a member on the pyramid scheme network platform and purchase virtual currency, investing a total of 223,500 yuan. Later, the pyramid scheme network platform was suddenly closed, making it impossible to trade. After the trial, the court determined that the commission contract violated the mandatory provisions of national laws and administrative regulations and should be deemed invalid. According to the degree of fault of both parties, the court ordered the defendant Zhou to return 106,700 yuan to the plaintiff Qin. After the first-instance verdict was announced, Zhou was dissatisfied and filed an appeal. The First Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing made a second-instance judgment, dismissing the appeal and upholding the original judgment. At present, the judgment has come into effect and has been automatically executed. (The Paper)