As part of the ongoing investigation into the collapse of the JPEX crypto exchange, Hong Kong police and Macau seized more than $2.8 million and detained four more suspects.
On September 29, Radio Television Hong Kong reported that authorities had arrested two men involved in JPEX. They allegedly opened Macau casino accounts to launder illicit funds received through the platform.
According to the police, the suspects were detained at the hotel, and during a search they found 6 million HKD (~$766,000) in cash and 3 million HKD (~$383,000) in chips. The police identified several other casinos through which the defendants in the case transferred money, and froze affiliated accounts worth HKD 5 million (~$638,000).
In total, over 14 million HKD (~$1.78 million) were seized during the operation.
According to the South China Morning Post, police arrested two more people. The report said a 28-year-old man surnamed Tan was caught red-handed in his bathroom while destroying documents using a shredder and bleach.
Details about the second detainee, surnamed Wong, were not released. As part of this episode, authorities seized approximately HKD 8.7 million (~$1.1 million) in cash and jewelry.
“The size of the crime syndicate is very large and we have a massive job to do. Final damage is expected to exceed HKD 1.5 billion [или около $191,5 млн]”said Hong Kong Assistant Commissioner of Police Chung Wing-man.
On September 17, JPEX published a blog post announcing the suspension of certain operations. The company cited liquidity problems due to disagreements with a third-party market maker and “unfair treatment” by regulators.
Later, the exchange introduced restrictions on withdrawals of $1000, setting a commission of $900. After this, the police began to receive numerous customer complaints.
Earlier, local media reported about the possible escape of the exchange’s chief managers.
Hong Kong authorities have restricted local access to the JPEX website and application. In response, its representatives said that the government was “unreasonably” blocking activity and urged customers to use VPN services.
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