Chinese Supplier Disappeared with Your Money — Do These 7 Things Right Now

First: Is This Actually Fraud — or Something Else?

When a Chinese supplier goes silent, the first instinct is to assume fraud. Sometimes that's right. But suppliers also go quiet for other reasons that affect both the urgency and the strategy:

The 7-Step Emergency Action Plan

Do these in order. The first three are time-critical and should ideally happen within 24–48 hours.

1. 1
   ⏱ Do This First — Within Hours

   Contact Your Bank: Request a Wire Recall

   If the payment was made by wire transfer within the last 24–72 hours, call your bank immediately and request an international wire recall (SWIFT recall). Wire recalls have a narrow window and are only sometimes successful, but when they work, this is by far the fastest and cheapest recovery.

   • Call your bank's international wire department directly (not customer service)
   • Provide the exact transaction reference number, amount, date, and beneficiary details
   • Say you believe the transfer may be fraudulent and request an urgent recall
   • Get the recall reference number and follow up in writing immediately

   Success rate: low for older transfers, moderate for very recent ones. Always worth trying.

2. 2
   ⏱ Do This Today

   Screenshot and Archive Everything Right Now

   Before you do anything else, preserve all your evidence. Suppliers sometimes delete WeChat conversations, deactivate email accounts, or remove websites when they know they're being pursued. Do this immediately:

   • Screenshot all WeChat / WhatsApp conversations (export if possible)
   • Download all emails to local storage (not just cloud)
   • Save copies of the contract, purchase orders, invoices
   • Screenshot their website, Alibaba profile, social media
   • Save their company registration number (营业执照号) and business address
   • Screenshot any product specifications or catalogs they sent

   Even screenshots on your phone are valid evidence. The goal is to have multiple copies in multiple locations before anything disappears.

3. 3
   ⏱ Do This Within 24–72 Hours

   Contact a PRC-Licensed Attorney for Emergency Asset Preservation

   This is the most time-critical legal step. A PRC-licensed attorney can apply to a Chinese court for an asset preservation order (财产保全) that freezes the supplier's Chinese bank accounts and property. Courts can act within days in urgent fraud cases.

   Asset preservation is the difference between winning an arbitration and winning nothing: without it, a fraudulent supplier can move or hide all assets during the months it takes to complete legal proceedings. With it, the assets are frozen and waiting when you win.

   Contact us now and we can often file the preservation application within 48 hours of receiving your case materials.

4. 4
   Within This Week

   Verify the Supplier's Corporate Status

   Use Chinese public records to confirm whether the company still exists and what assets it holds. Key resources:

   • National Enterprise Credit Information System (qixin.com or gsxt.gov.cn) — free corporate registration lookup
   • Tianyancha / Qichacha — commercial databases showing registered capital, shareholders, legal representatives, litigation history
   • Search the company's unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码) — visible on their business license

   If the company is still registered and shows assets, legal action has clear targets. If the company has been deregistered, the individual shareholders and legal representative can still be pursued personally in many circumstances.

5. 5
   Within This Week

   Try Every Contact Channel — One More Time

   Before concluding they've vanished, attempt contact through every available channel. Sometimes suppliers who ignore emails respond to other channels. Try:

   • WeChat voice call (not just message)
   • Phone call to the registered company number
   • Alibaba / trade platform messaging
   • Contact their factory address by courier (send a formal written demand)
   • LinkedIn or other professional networks
   • Any individual employees or contacts you have

   Document all attempts with timestamps. These records are relevant if the case proceeds to legal action — showing the supplier deliberately ignored contact strengthens your fraud claim.

6. 6
   This Week / Next Steps

   Report to Relevant Authorities

   Reporting to authorities rarely produces direct recovery, but creates an official record that can support legal proceedings and, in some cases, prompts regulatory action against the company. Depending on your country:

   • US: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov), your state AG's office, FTC (for internet fraud)
   • UK: Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk), Companies House if using a UK-registered vehicle
   • Australia: Australian Federal Police, ACCC Scamwatch
   • All countries: Report to the platform where you found them (Alibaba, Global Sources, etc.) — platform fraud reports can freeze the seller's account
7. 7
   Within 2 Weeks

   Pursue Formal Legal Action Inside China

   Once asset preservation is in place and evidence is gathered, the formal legal process begins. Depending on your contract, this means either CIETAC arbitration (if you have an arbitration clause) or filing in Chinese court. Your PRC-licensed attorney will guide this process.

   Key factors that determine the best legal route:

   • Does your contract contain an arbitration clause? (determines CIETAC eligibility)
   • How large is the claim? (affects cost-benefit of different procedures)
   • Can the supplier be located and served? (affects which court has jurisdiction)
   • Is there evidence of intentional fraud? (may affect criminal referral options)

   See our Complete Recovery Guide and CIETAC Arbitration Guide for full details on each legal path.

Do's and Don'ts When Your Supplier Disappears

How We Trace Disappeared Chinese Suppliers

Chinese companies don't actually disappear. They leave extensive paper trails across government databases, even when they stop responding. Here's how we locate them and their assets:

Corporate Registration Records

Every Chinese company is registered with the Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) and holds a unique business registration number. These records show the company's registered address, registered capital, shareholders, and legal representative — all potential targets for legal action.

Bank Account Identification

Through the discovery process in Chinese court or arbitration proceedings, we can compel disclosure of the company's bank account information. Chinese courts have mechanisms to query banks directly. Asset preservation orders, once obtained, allow direct freezing of identified accounts.

Individual Shareholder Liability

In cases of deliberate fraud, the corporate veil can sometimes be pierced to pursue individual shareholders and directors personally. Chinese law allows this when individuals used the company as an instrument of fraud or when capital obligations were not met.

Related Entity Investigation

Fraudulent businesses often operate through multiple related entities. We investigate connected companies under the same shareholders or legal representative — a scam factory often has a legitimate sister company with real assets that can satisfy the judgment.

Real Property and Equipment

Factory equipment, real estate, and inventory are often registered to the company and can be identified and preserved through court orders. Even a seemingly defunct company may still hold registered real property.

Realistic Recovery Scenarios

Here is an honest assessment of what different situations typically mean for recovery prospects:

The most important variable in every row above is speed. A supplier with a 50% recovery likelihood today may have a 15% recovery likelihood in 6 months if assets have been moved. Contact us now for an honest assessment of your specific situation.

See also: CIETAC Arbitration: Complete Process Guide | How Asset Preservation Orders Work | Deposit Fraud Recovery