April 22, 2024
By Sharan Kaur Phillora
Hong Kong police have arrested more than 70 individuals and frozen assets close to HK$230 million in a crackdown on alleged financial fraud involving the cryptocurrency platform JPEX. Police Commissioner Raymond Siu detailed the ongoing operation during a legislative update, marking it as one of the largest financial fraud cases in the city’s history.
Here’s what we know:
The JPEX controversy began in September of the previous year when the city’s securities watchdog flagged the cryptocurrency exchange as unlicensed and accused it of engaging in suspicious activities. Despite regulatory scrutiny, JPEX continued to charge exorbitant withdrawal fees, which aggravated public and investor unrest.
Commissioner Siu revealed that the police had detained 72 people in connection with the scandal, with the frozen assets totaling approximately HK$228 million. “As of today, we have received 2,636 reports related to this case, involving around HK$1.6 billion,” Siu stated, highlighting the scale of the alleged fraud.
The arrests include not only key operators within JPEX but also social media influencers such as Chan Wing-yee, Joseph Lam Chok, and Sheena Leung. These influencers had promoted JPEX and even established their own over-the-counter trading hubs, deepening their involvement in the scandal.
In a broader context, Siu also shared alarming statistics from the previous year, noting that Hong Kong had witnessed 6,330 investment scams with losses totaling over HK$5.93 billion. A significant portion of these scams, about HK$3.16 billion, was tied to the cryptocurrency sector, underscoring the growing risk in this area.
The JPEX case has emerged not only as a substantial financial scandal but also as a stark reminder of the risks associated with unregulated cryptocurrency operations. The Hong Kong police’s rigorous approach aims to restore investor confidence and impose stricter regulatory oversight to prevent future occurrences of such fraudulent activities.
About the author
Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.
