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The Hong Kong police announced the progress of the investigation into the JPEX virtual asset trading platform fraud case, revealing that since the investigation began, a total of 80 people have been arrested, and assets totaling approximately HKD 228 million have been frozen. Another round of prosecution actions has been taken, charging 10 individuals with "money laundering" and "conspiracy to commit money laundering."Chief Inspector Han Chenghao of the Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau stated that the JPEX case is the largest in terms of the number of victims and the amount of money defrauded in recent years in Hong Kong, with over 2,700 victims reporting losses exceeding HKD 1.6 billion. Since the incident, no company or individual has admitted to being the actual operator, and the police need to conduct extensive investigations to clarify who the masterminds, core members, or accomplices behind JPEX are.

The unlicensed virtual asset trading platform JPEX was revealed to be involved in fraud in 2023, with multiple artists and influencers implicated in deceiving investors and causing them to lose their assets. According to the latest disclosures from Hong Kong media, the Wen Wei Po, two suspects involved in money laundering of approximately HKD 26.4 million have been summoned in two separate cases at the District Court. The prosecution has confirmed that a notice for increased penalties has been issued and recorded by the court. Judge Ko Kin-sau has scheduled the two cases for further hearings on March 31 and April 9, respectively. It is reported that the police have prosecuted 16 individuals in this case so far.

According to the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, the unlicensed virtual asset trading platform JPEX was revealed to be involved in fraud in 2023, with multiple artists and influencers implicated in deceiving investors and causing them to lose their assets. As reported by the Hong Kong media Wen Wei Po, influencer "Zhu Gongzi" Zhu Jiahui has been additionally charged with three counts of money laundering and has been granted continued bail. It is reported that from November 25, 2020, to August 30, 2023, he processed four transactions totaling over HKD 18.8 million through his accounts at Zhong An Bank, Mox Bank, Li Hui Bank, and Hui Li Bank.

The virtual asset trading platform JPEX is under new developments in a fraud case, where three men involved were granted continued bail after appearing in the Eastern Magistrates' Court today. They are 27-year-old student Yu Kwan-lam, 30-year-old Wong Tsz-kin, and 30-year-old technician Tang Chi-chung. Yu Kwan-lam is charged with two counts of money laundering, involving the laundering of 7.79 million Hong Kong dollars. His case has been approved for referral to the District Court and will be heard on January 8 next year.Wong Tsz-kin is charged with obstructing justice, accused of conspiring with a person known as "Brother Lu" in September 2023 to dispose of items at a location on Cheung Sha Wan's Castle Peak Road to hinder authorities' investigation. Tang Chi-chung faces dual charges of obstructing justice and money laundering, involving the disposal of items and documents at a unit in Starry House, Cheung Sha Wan, on September 28, 2023, as well as handling approximately 880,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash and two Rolex watches valued at around 240,000 Hong Kong dollars. The cases of Wong Tsz-kin and Tang Chi-chung have been adjourned to January 16 next year in the Eastern Court for the prosecution to prepare referral documents.JPEX was revealed to be involved in fraud in 2023, with a total of 16 individuals charged in the entire incident.

According to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, there is new progress in the fraud case involving the virtual asset trading platform JPEX. Eight defendants are facing multiple charges, and the case has been postponed to March 16, 2026, for retrial.Reportedly, the eight defendants are former TVB artist Zheng Junxi (31 years old), Xiao Yingqian (28 years old), Lin Zuo (35 years old), internet celebrity "Chen Yi" Chen Yingyi (38 years old), Qu Zhuoji (31 years old), Zhao Jingxian (25 years old), YouTuber "Xiangxiang" Liang Qixiang (31 years old), and He Jiwen (28 years old).The charges include conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud, fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets, and handling property known or believed to represent the proceeds of indictable offenses. Except for Zheng Junxi, who did not apply for bail, the other seven defendants were allowed to continue bail under the original conditions, during which they are not allowed to leave Hong Kong and must surrender all travel documents.

According to Hong Kong media Ming Pao, the Hong Kong police have prosecuted 16 individuals in the JPEX case, including internet celebrity Lin Zuo. The case will be heard tomorrow at the Eastern Magistrates' Court.It is reported that among the 16 individuals charged, 6 are core members of JPEX, involved in conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and obstructing justice; 7 are members of virtual currency over-the-counter exchanges; and 3 are puppet account holders. This is the first time the police have used the crime of "fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets" under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance for prosecution. The police have arrested a total of 80 individuals so far, have identified two masterminds and one key member who are still at large, and have issued a red notice through Interpol. The case involves over 2,700 victims, with losses exceeding HKD 1.6 billion, and the police have frozen assets worth approximately HKD 228 million. The police do not rule out the possibility of a second round of prosecution actions.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media Ming Pao, the Hong Kong Legislative Council's Special Finance Committee document has announced the progress of the JPEX case. As of February 28 this year, the police have received 2,636 reports, involving approximately HKD 1.616 billion, and a total of 80 people have been arrested.The total value of frozen assets is approximately HKD 228 million, including property assets, luxury cars, bank account balances, cash, and cryptocurrencies valued at about HKD 14.5 million. Among them, 1,311 reportees have provided statements, while 666 have indicated they will not pursue the matter, and the remaining 659 have not been contacted. The Hong Kong police stated that the investigation is still ongoing, including seeking legal advice from the Department of Justice regarding evidence related to different parties involved in the case.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media reports, JPEX is suspected of violating regulations by promoting and operating in Hong Kong. The first civil lawsuit involves two plaintiffs seeking to recover 240,000 Tether or 1.85 million Hong Kong dollars from JPEX Group and a total of 7 defendants. One of the defendants, a JPEX registered company in Hong Kong, was absent from last month's hearing. Judge Zhou Zhaowen issued a ruling yesterday stating that the company, as an operator, holds assets and constitutes an express trust but has violated its responsibilities. Particularly, the case of the first plaintiff is evidently strong, thus the judge ordered the company to compensate at the request of the two individuals.According to the statement of claim, the first defendant, a company registered in Australia under JPEX, operates the JPEX virtual asset service and electronic platform. The plaintiffs personally or in their name deposited virtual currency into the platform account, and they request the court to rule that the second defendant has violated good faith and/or must restructure and repay debts. The judge also stated that in many common law jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, courts accept that cryptocurrency is considered "property" and can form a trust.The judge recognized that the two defendants operate a cryptocurrency trading platform, which records the movement of currency between accounts, involving trustee benefits and various agreement terms. Therefore, the defendants, as trustees, violated their responsibilities by transferring assets without authorization.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Taiwanese law enforcement has transferred the famous Taiwanese singer Chen Zhihao (stage name Nine Chen) to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office due to his alleged involvement in a fraud case related to the Hong Kong JPEX trading platform, with charges of serious fraud and violations of banking laws.It is reported that as of July 7, 2023, the singer has released 9 studio albums and 1 digital album. He is currently the host of "Entertainment 100%" and a member of the duo "Jiu Ze CP" and the boy band "Wu Jian Qing".

ChainCatcher news, according to Ming Pao reports, the unlicensed virtual asset platform JPEX in Hong Kong, reported last September, is suspected of violating regulations by promoting and operating in Hong Kong. Two of the victims in the case have hired lawyers to represent them and officially filed a lawsuit in the regional court yesterday against the JPEX group and a total of 7 related defendants, seeking to recover 240,000 Tether or 1.85 million Hong Kong dollars, marking the first civil claim against JPEX. Zhu Qiaohua, a consultant lawyer at Haocen Law Firm representing the plaintiffs, stated that if the claim is successful, it could serve as an example to help more victims recover their losses.Zhu Qiaohua mentioned that the criminal investigation is still ongoing, but there is a 6-year limit for filing civil lawsuits. If they wait for the criminal investigation to conclude before seeking compensation, there may not be enough time to initiate civil proceedings; any developments during the civil lawsuit could also impact the criminal prosecution. Tasman Tam, the barrister representing the two plaintiffs, explained that they will pursue several causes of action to try to recover losses for the plaintiffs, one of which is based on the fiduciary duty of the JPEX group (the defendants include JPEX's registered companies in Australia and Hong Kong) in the incident. All involved virtual currencies are held in trust by JPEX or related parties, with the actual owners of the virtual assets being the plaintiffs, and the defendants are required to return the relevant virtual assets.It is reported that as of April 18 this year, the police have received reports from 2,636 victims in the JPEX case, involving approximately 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, with 72 people arrested and assets worth about 228 million Hong Kong dollars frozen.

ChainCatcher news, according to DL News, the Hong Kong police have frozen assets worth over 29 million dollars related to the defunct cryptocurrency exchange platform JPEX.It is reported that this exchange platform collapsed last September, involving a fraud case of 403 million dollars.Currently, the number of arrests related to JPEX has increased to 72, including employees and social media influencers.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong 01, in recent years, there have been increasing cases of fraud involving virtual asset trading platforms, attracting social attention. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, stated that over the past three years, there have been a total of 7,148 cases of fraud involving virtual assets, with nearly 7 billion HKD involved, more than half of which were related to last year's scams. As of the 20th, in the JPEX case, the police have arrested 70 people, and no one has been prosecuted yet.Christopher Hui pointed out that since September last year, the Securities and Futures Commission has added a "List of Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms," and as of February 14 this year, there are 14 trading platforms on the list. He stated that since December last year, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Police Force have further implemented an information-sharing mechanism, exchanging complaints and intelligence regarding suspicious activities related to virtual asset trading platforms or virtual assets twice a week. As of February 2 this year, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Police Force have exchanged intelligence on over 100 cases related to virtual asset trading platforms or virtual asset-related activities.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Police Force Commissioner Siu Chak-yee responded to Legislative Council member Wu Kit-chong's inquiry, stating that the virtual asset trading platform JPEX case received 2,636 reports in 2023, involving 1.6 billion HKD. They have contacted 2,300 victims, recorded statements from one-third of them, arrested 69 individuals, and frozen 200 million HKD in assets. Due to the complexity of the investigation and the large number of victims, they will continue to take statements from the remaining individuals and examine the flow of funds in electronic wallets to gather sufficient evidence to prove that the relevant individuals' crimes demonstrate that JPEX had no actual investment activities.

ChainCatcher news, according to reports, the Hong Kong police stated regarding the alleged fraud case involving the virtual asset trading platform JPEX that as of 5 PM today, a total of 2,623 victims have reported the case, involving an amount of approximately 1.6 billion HKD.So far, 66 people have been arrested in the case, all of whom have been granted bail pending trial, and are required to report to the police from late December to late January next year. The police stated that the investigation is still ongoing and do not rule out the possibility of more arrests.

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency exchange JPEX, which is suspected of fraud, announced yesterday that in order to ensure DAO stakeholders can obtain sufficient returns and dividends from the plan, the platform has begun working on a capital buyback with market makers.In addition, JPEX also stated that the relevant trading systems on the platform are being optimized and reset.Previously, on the evening of October 26, Hong Kong police announced that there have been 36 arrests in the conspiracy fraud case involving the virtual asset trading platform JPEX, but all arrested individuals have been granted bail and must report to the police from late October to late December. As of 5 PM on the 26th, there have been 2,595 reported victims, involving an amount of approximately 1.58 billion Hong Kong dollars.

ChainCatcher news, Taiwan's "Financial Supervisory Commission" confirmed that it has received reports alleging that JPEX is illegally soliciting in Taiwan and providing evidence, and has forwarded the information to the investigation agency for further action. Due to the significant number of victims in Taiwan, the amount involved has reached tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars. After an investigation by the Taipei City Investigation Office, singer Chen Lingjiu, who was responsible for endorsements, was recently interviewed in secret, with the case being classified as fraud.JPEX has no business representative in Taiwan, and the investigation agency interviewed Chen Lingjiu (real name Chen Zhihao) as a witness. Chen Lingjiu stated that the entire matter was initiated by Rolling Stone Records' agent Liu Bai-liang, and he was only responsible for the endorsement, claiming to be a victim himself. It is still under evaluation whether the investigation agency will interview Liu Bai-liang. The investigation agency is looking into the fact that Chen Lingjiu's endorsement fee reached eight digits, far exceeding the general market rate. After the JPEX case broke out, the company located next to SOGO in Taipei's East District was found empty, with posters of Chen Lingjiu posted outside the building. Victims have no recourse for compensation and can only file a report with the investigation agency. Whether Chen Lingjiu was completely unaware of the situation remains to be clarified, and whether he will be changed from a witness to a defendant will depend on the evidence collected.The investigation agency estimates that JPEX has invested a large marketing budget in Taiwan, including spokespersons and media, with marketing costs reaching tens of millions. It will be further clarified whether this includes victim funds or illegal cash flows; the "Financial Supervisory Commission" pointed out that according to company law, if an overseas virtual trading platform is a foreign company and has not registered a branch office, it is prohibited from conducting business in Taiwan, with criminal and civil liability. Whether there has been a violation of money laundering laws will depend on whether JPEX has engaged in exchanges of New Taiwan dollars, foreign currencies, and other currencies.