The Secretary for Security of Hong Kong, Chris Tang Ping-keung, has vowed to bring justice to people who fell victim to the JPEX crypto exchange fraud, local media has reported. In a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 27, the security chief’s office said police are actively looking for the key operators behind the JPEX crypto exchange that orchestrated the country’s largest digital asset fraud.
During the press conference, Tang Ping-keung revealed that the police had made 12 arrests in the case so far and seized more than 8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1 million) in cash, as well as assets worth 77 million HK$ ($9.8 million), including real estate and digital currency, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Tang added that the police were actively looking for the ringleaders in the case and called their capture a major factor in solving it.
The operators of the JPEX crypto exchange are accused of running an unauthorized crypto platform and defrauding customers of millions of dollars. Tang also notified the press that they are working with the country’s regulators to put specific measures in place to avoid any such fraud in the future.
Local police in Hong Kong received 2,369 complaints from victims who lost their hard-earned money by investing in the unregulated exchange. The total monetary value of the fallout is estimated to be around 1.4 billion HK$ ($178 million).
The police have made 12 arrests in the case, including three JPEX Technical Support Company employees, along with two YouTubers, Chan Wing-yee and Chu Ka-fa.
Related: Hong Kong securities regulator issues in-principle approval to HKVAX
The first signs of trouble related to JPEX emerged on Sept. 15 when several users complained about difficulty withdrawing funds. As the news about withdrawal issues gained traction, the platform notoriously raised its withdrawal fees to 999 Tether to deter users from withdrawing funds after a warning from regulators.
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