Justice for Digital Asset Fraud Victims Cannot Expire.
Outdated statute of limitations are protecting criminals. It's time to reform digital asset law to reflect the permanence of blockchain ledgers.
Countries Mapped
Legal Systems
The Statute of Limitations We Seek
Official Document No. 2024-SOL-01
Official Global Petition for Reform
The Digital Asset Regulatory Authority (DARA) Strategic Reform Initiative
WHEREAS
Digital assets represent a new era of global economic participation, existing on immutable distributed ledgers that preserve the record of transactions in perpetuity;
WHEREAS
Existing statutes of limitation were designed for physical assets and legacy financial systems where evidence decays over time, failing to recognize the unique permanence and cross-jurisdictional complexity of distributed fraud
WHEREAS
Sophisticated criminal actors utilize technological delays to exhaust legal clocks, effectively laundering stolen wealth through time-based immunity;
NOW THEREFORE, we the undersigned…
Formally call upon global legislative bodies to abolish or significantly extend statutes of limitation for crimes involving digital asset fraud, ensuring that the passage of time is no longer a shield for bad actors in the digital economy.
Our Reform Pillars
Specific legislative adjustments required to achieve global parity in digital asset protection.
Universal Recognition
Extended Discovery
Cross-Border Enforcement
Country-by-Country Liability Snapshot
A relative Discovery Rule (clock starts when the wallet/identity is forensically uncovered) versus a rigid absolute Date of the Act standard is the single biggest variable in recovery outcomes.
| Country / Region | Criminal Liability Period | Civil Asset Recovery Period | Tolling / Discovery Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (Federal) | 5 yrs standard wire/cyber fraud (10 yrs if hitting a financial institution) | Varies by state, typically 2–6 yrs | Highly favorable — Discovery Rule in most states |
| United Kingdom (England & Wales) | No statute of limitations for serious indictable offenses | 6 yrs for tortious conversion / breach of contract | Favorable — Section 32 tolls for active fraud or concealment |
| Germany | 5–10 yrs depending on scale and organization of fraud | 3 yrs baseline; absolute long-stop 10–30 yrs | Favorable — 3-yr clock activates at year-end of discovery |
| Singapore | No statute of limitations for criminal prosecution | 6 yrs for contract / tortious claims | Favorable civilly — Section 29 delays for concealment |
| Switzerland | 10–15 yrs for serious institutional/cyber/corporate fraud | 3 yrs from knowledge; absolute cap 10 yrs | Strict absolute long-stop — 10-yr cap from transaction block stamp |
| Japan | 7 yrs for standard penal code fraud/larceny/theft | 3 yrs tortious / 5 yrs general; absolute cap 20 yrs | Moderate — civil recovery lapses after 20-yr milestone |
| Australia | No statute of limitations for serious indictable federal offenses | 6 yrs for general tort/contract breaches | Favorable — postponed for fraudulent concealment |
| United Arab Emirates (Dubai / DIFC) | 5 yrs misdemeanors; up to 20 yrs for major felonies | 3 yrs onshore; 6 yrs via DIFC courts | Strict — onshore defaults to event date |
| Cayman Islands | No statute of limitations for serious indictable offenses | 6 yrs for standard contract / common law conversion | Favorable — Section 33 postpones for hidden data |
| South Korea | 7–10 yrs for financial fraud, scaling with amount stolen | 3 yrs from awareness; absolute cap 10 yrs | Strict absolute cap — bars clawback past 10 yrs regardless of unmasking |
Need the Hard Evidence?
2025 est. losses
$4.92B
2025 est. victims
98,500
Growth since 2021
+206%
Source: FBI IC3 Crypto Crime Reports, Chainalysis Core Trends, market aggregated projections (2025 est.)
Formalize Your Support
This signature will be appended to the official global petition presented to the Digital Asset Reform Committee.