Hong Kong authorities seize over $2.8 million in JPEX case

As part of the ongoing investigation into the collapse of the JPEX crypto exchange, the Hong Kong police and Macao authorities seized more than $2.8 million and arrested another four suspects.

On 29 September, Radio Television Hong Kong reported that authorities arrested two men linked to JPEX. They allegedly opened accounts at Macau casinos to launder illicit funds obtained through the platform.

According to the police, the suspects were detained in a hotel; during a search they found HKD (about $766,000) in cash and HKD 3 million (about $383,000) in chips. Police identified several other casinos through which the suspects moved funds and froze affiliated accounts totaling HKD 5 million (about $638,000).

In total, more than HKD 14 million (about $1.78 million) was 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 Tang was apprehended in his own bathroom while destroying documents with a shredder and bleach.

Details about the second arrestee surnamed Wong were not disclosed. In this episode, authorities seized about HKD 8.7 million (about $1.1 million) in cash and jewellery.

“The scale of the criminal syndicate is very large, and we have a lot of work ahead. It is expected that the eventual damage will exceed HKD 1.5 billion (about $191.5 million),” said Hong Kong Assistant Commissioner of Police Chung Wing-man.

On 17 September, JPEX published a blog post about suspending some operations. The company cited liquidity problems stemming from disagreements with an external market maker and “unfair treatment” by regulators.

Later the exchange imposed withdrawal limits of $1,000, while charging a $900 fee. After this, the police began receiving numerous customer complaints.

Earlier local media reported on a possible escape by the exchange’s top executives.

Hong Kong authorities restricted local access to the JPEX site and app. In response, its representatives said the government is “unreasonably” blocking the operation and urged customers to use VPN services.