Shenzhen foreigner recovers RMB 120K power bank deposit after 3-year legal fight. Shell company pierced, sole shareholder pays installments.
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Source: OT-Team(G), 深圳新闻网
A Pakistani businessman, Mr. K, finally saw money land in his account – years late, after a legal battle that went nowhere, hit a dead end, and nearly collapsed twice.
"Thank you," he said in broken Chinese. But the road there was anything but polite.
Three years ago, Mr. K signed a contract with a Shenzhen digital company for power banks. The company took the deal – then failed to deliver. After tense back-and-forth, both sides signed a settlement: the company would refund the deposit plus compensation, totaling over RMB 130,000. But after just one payment of RMB 13,000? Silence.
Mr. K sued. The Qianhai Court ruled in his favor – full refund, RMB 120,000 still owed.
Then came the first dead end.
When enforcement started, the court found nothing. No cash. No assets. The company was a shell. The case was effectively closed.
But Mr. K dug deeper. He discovered that Mr. Chen was the sole shareholder. He filed an emergency motion to add Mr. Chen personally as the enforcement target.
The court rejected it.
That was the second dead end.
Mr. K refused to walk away. He filed an enforcement objection lawsuit – a direct legal fight to pierce the corporate veil and go after Mr. Chen personally.
That's when the real conflict began.
Mr. Chen fought back. He insisted his assets were completely separate from the company. He would not pay. Meanwhile, Mr. K – a foreign national with limited Chinese – faced language barriers at every turn. Every legal term, every objection, every rejection risked being lost in translation.
The court referred the case to a Hong Kong mediation body, but neither side budged.
Mediators tried separate talks. "Especially with Mr. K," one recalled. "The language barrier meant every conversation had to be slow, careful, and exact."
Judges went after Mr. Chen directly – multiple times. They laid out the legal risk in plain terms: if a sole shareholder mixes personal and company money, a court can pierce the corporate veil. That means personal liability. That means his own assets on the line.
For weeks, Mr. Chen held firm. No. Not responsible. Not paying.
Then something cracked.
After repeated rounds – detailed, legal, confrontational – Mr. Chen finally understood the exposure. He was not untouchable. If the case went to full trial and he lost, he could lose everything personally.
He agreed to take on the full debt.
Mr. K, knowing the company had nothing left, made a calculated concession. An installment plan was better than another year of legal dead ends.
An agreement was signed. Mr. Chen will pay – not all at once, but piece by piece, month by month.
For Mr. K, the money is finally moving. But it took two dead ends, a direct lawsuit, and a near-collapse to get there.