Police charge another 10 people over HK$1.6 billion JPEX cryptocurrency scandal

More than 2,700 people fell victim to the alleged JPEX scam.

Photo: Handout Hong Kong police have charged another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) JPEX cryptocurrency scandal – the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years.

Four men and six women were charged on Thursday after investigations identified abnormal transactions in suspicious accounts linked to the case, police said.

The suspects, aged between 26 and 47, will appear in Eastern Court on Friday charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money.

The latest move comes months after police first charged 16 people, including influencer Joseph Lam Chok, with fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Chief Inspector Hon Shing-ho of the commercial crime bureau’s fraud division said the investigation showed that some account holders had abnormal transactions that were “highly disproportionate to their financial profile”, involving around HK$132 million in total.

Hong said the prosecution would apply to transfer the 10 individuals’ cases to the District Court.

He said the investigation took time as no individual or company admitted to being the operator in this complex case with a large number of victims and massive amounts of scammed funds.

More than 2,700 people fell victim to the alleged scam, which involved losses of more than HK$1.6 billion.

Since the investigation began in September 2023, 80 people, including alleged core members of a criminal syndicate, have been arrested, with assets worth HK$228 million seized.

Last November, police charged six alleged core members, seven influencers and individuals involved in over-the-counter (OTC) operations, and three stooge account holders.

Police also issued a “red notice” through Interpol to hunt down two masterminds and a core member of JPEX.

原文链接: 南华早报