The mastermind responsible for the alleged cryptocurrency exchange scam in Hong Kong, known as JPEX, has managed to avoid being caught by the authorities, even though 11 individuals have already been questioned in connection with the case.
According to a September 23, report from the South China Morning Post, police have received over 2,265 complaints from the victims who were affected by a cryptocurrency exchange issue.
Around $178 million, which is equivalent to 1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars, is estimated to be the total monetary value of the fallout.
The complaints appear to be related to difficulties that users were facing when trying to take their cryptocurrency out of the exchange.
On September 15, the JPEX exchange raised its withdrawal fees for cryptocurrency to 999 Tether, causing frustration among users. Some people consider this scam to be the biggest financial fraud ever to happen in the city.
Additionally, the police have arrested three employees from the JPEX Technical Support Company, as well as two YouTubers named Chan Wing-yee and Chu Ka-fai, who collectively have a significant following of over 200,000 people. They are being investigated in connection with the scandal.
The JPEX scandal became public on September 13 when Hong Kong’s financial regulator informed the public that it had received more than 1,000 complaints about an unregistered cryptocurrency exchange. These complaints allege losses of over $128 million (1 billion HK dollars).
At that time, JPEX said they had tried to register with the appropriate regulatory authorities but claimed they were treated unfairly by these agencies, including the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
On contrary, the SFC disclosed on September 20 that JPEX had been operating without the necessary license to conduct virtual asset trading.
Also Read: HK SFC blacklists ‘Suspicious” Crypto Platforms after JPEX Scam
