72 arrested, HK$228m frozen in JPEX affair
Police chief also tells lawmakers of HK$1.6b involved in scandal over cryptocurrency
Police have arrested more than 70 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion JPEX cryptocurrency scandal and frozen nearly HK$230 million in assets so far, according to the force’s chief.
The JPEX scandal – Hong Kong’s biggest case of alleged financial fraud – erupted last September after the securities watchdog named the cryptocurrency trading company as an unlicensed platform, accusing it of suspicious activities.
Despite coming under fire, the platform remained defiant and hit users with an exorbitant fee for virtual asset withdrawals.
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee updated the legislature with the force’s latest progress in the investigation yesterday, saying the number of arrests related to the case had shot up to 72 and about HK$228 million had been frozen.
“The force has received 2,636 reports with regard to the case as of today, and the amount involved is about HK$1.6 billion,” he said.
Among those previously arrested were social media influencers who had appeared in adverts for the trading platform and set up their own over-thecounter shops. They included Chan Wing-yee, Joseph Lam Chok and Sheena Leung.`
In his reply to lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong who had been following the issue, Siu also said the force recorded 6,330 investment scams – both offline and online – last year, with more than HK$5.93 billion lost. Among them, 2,342 cases were related to cryptocurrency and involved about HK$3.16 billion.
Separately, the meeting also touched on the government’s proposed amendments to the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, which came under public scrutiny following the fatal blaze at New Lucky House in Yau Ma Tei.
Authorities are seeking to increase the penalty for non-compliance with fire-safety orders from a maximum of HK$50,000 to HK$200,000.
The amendments also seek further fines for every day the offences continued, ranging from HK$5,000 to HK$20,000.
Security minister Chris Tang Ping-keung said the government would expedite the legislative process by tabling the amendments in the second quarter of this year instead of the fourth following the recent fire.
The blaze last week at the mixed-use 60-year-old building in Yau Ma Tei filled with guest houses and subdivided flats killed five people and injured 43 others.
Lawmakers at yesterday’s meeting questioned authorities on whether they would consider adding a jail term as one of the penalties for non-compliance with the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance. But Tang said it would be difficult for the government to consider imprisonment as a punishment for not following fire safety instructions as it would mostly be a collective responsibility, rather than guilt falling on a single person.