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Chinese woman discovers $2.8 million secret transfers by late husband to mistress, sues to reclaim funds
A Chinese woman discovered after her husband’s death that $2.8 million had been secretly transferred to his mistress over several years.
A woman in China was left stunned after learning that her late husband had secretly maintained a long term affair for several years and transferred nearly 20 million yuan to his mistress, according to a report by the South China Morning Post SCMP. The discovery came only after the man’s death and ultimately led to a legal battle over the disputed money.
Shocking truth revealed after husband’s death
The woman, surnamed Shen and based in Shanghai, married her husband Jin in July 1999. Over more than two decades of marriage, the couple had two children, a son and a daughter. By all appearances, their family life seemed stable.
Jin passed away in May 2022, after being married to Shen for over 20 years. It was only while sorting through his personal belongings following his death that Shen uncovered evidence of a hidden relationship. As per SCMP, she discovered that her husband had been having an affair with a woman surnamed Tao since 2015.
The revelation was deeply upsetting. Shen also found financial records showing that Jin had transferred more than 19 million yuan to Tao over a seven year period. Until then, she had been completely unaware of both the affair and the large sums of money involved.
Family takes legal action
After uncovering the transfers, Shen and her children decided to take the matter to court. They filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the gifts and demanded that Tao return the money, arguing that the funds were part of marital assets and had been given without Shen’s knowledge or consent.
During the initial proceedings, the court ruled in favour of Shen. It found that Jin’s unilateral decision to gift such a substantial amount of marital property to another person was invalid under the law.
The court also noted that Tao had already returned 5.4 million yuan to Jin before his death. After deducting this amount, Tao was ordered to return the remaining 14 million yuan to Shen.
Appeal rejected by higher court
Tao challenged the ruling and filed an appeal. However, the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court rejected her appeal and upheld the original judgment.
According to SCMP, the court concluded that Jin’s extramarital relationship and the associated financial gifts infringed upon Shen’s lawful financial rights. It further stated that such actions violated public morals and social ethics.
