Crypto Influencer Arrested by Hong Kong Authorities in JPEX Probe

Hong Kong authorities have apprehended social media influencer Joseph Lam (Lin Zuo) for his involvement within the troubled JPEX change.

Lam, a educated lawyer turned insurance coverage agent, is among the many six people detained by the authorities in reference to the change, in response to reports. 

The arrests have been made by the Hong Kong police on Monday following reviews from over 1,000 buyers related to the case. In line with the report, the potential losses are estimated to be as excessive as HK$1 billion (US$128 million).

Lam was reported to have offered a number of methods inside a cryptocurrency funding group, in response to an unverified report.

One alleged sufferer, Miss Chen, was allegedly satisfied to speculate 100,000 Hong Kong {dollars} ($12,800) in cryptocurrency. The business crime bureau of the town’s police power searched Lam’s workplace on the Leisure Constructing in Central round 11 a.m. 

Through the operation, the police confiscated numerous items of proof, together with a plastic bag containing banknotes, from his workplace. 

Earlier than his arrest, Lam had a meeting with the police on September 15 to make clear his affiliation with JPEX and to help in recovering funds from the buying and selling platform. 

He supposedly refuted the allegations that he was a accomplice on the change and denied involvement with the platform.

JPEX Freeze Transactions

Cryptocurrency platform JPEX temporarily suspended a few of its buying and selling actions on Sunday amidst an ongoing investigation from Hong Kong regulation enforcement.

In line with the official statement, buyers can not provoke new orders by its Earn Buying and selling interface beginning Monday, notably for sure wealth administration merchandise. 

As well as, JPEX is at present in discussions with third-party market makers to handle a liquidity scarcity challenge.

The scrutiny by Hong Kong regulation enforcement comes from a referral from the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC), the monetary watchdog in Hong Kong. 

The SFC alleged that JPEX was conducting enterprise within the metropolis with out the required licensing. This marked the regulator’s first warning of this kind since Hong Kong’s push to develop into a cryptocurrency hub. 

The regulator additionally acquired complaints from retail buyers who had problem withdrawing digital property from their JPEX accounts and reported situations of altered and lowered account balances.

Subsequently, the SFC referred the case to the police for additional investigation.