Crypto Exchange JPEX Moves to Deregister Australia Entity, HK Blocks Access

Thursday, 21/09/2023 | 10:41 GMT by Arnab Shome

Hong Kong police received complaints from 1,641 investors involving HK$1.2 billion in crypto assets.

Several arrests were made in connection with the crypto exchange.

The troubles of the crypto exchange JPEX can be sensed from its latest move to deregister its local entity in Australia. According to a Cointelegraph report, Jieyi Chen, a Director of JP-EX Crypto Asset Platform PTY LTD (JPEX), has already filed a deregistration application with the Australian financial regulator.

Although there is no official confirmation, the deregistration application reportedly claims that all members of the entity agreed to the move as the company is no longer conducting any business. Further, it highlighted that the Aussie entity has less than AU$1,000 in assets with no liabilities.

A Troubled Crypto Exchange

The problems at JPEX started last week with a warning from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), highlighting that the exchange falsely claimed to have applied for a license with the regulator. It also alleged that the other license claims by the exchange are also false.

The financial market regulator in Hong Kong is working with the local police to crack down on allegedly shady operations of the crypto exchange. The HK police made multiple arrests, including influencers Joseph Lam Chok and Chan Wing-yee, for promoting the exchange.

Largest Financial Fraud in Hong Kong

The alleged JPEX fiasco is supposedly the largest case of financial fraud in the autonomous Chinese administrative region. The Hong Kong police are said to have received complaints from 1,641 investors until earlier this week, involving nearly HK$1.2 billion ($128 billion) in assets. To prevent customer withdrawals after the fiasco, JPEX increased its withdrawal fees to 999 USDT, in contrast to its previously offered 30 percent yield on stablecoins.

Meanwhile, the HK police have asked internet providers within its jurisdiction to block access to JPEX.

“The telecommunications service providers in the Hong Kong region, at the request of the SFC, have unreasonably blocked our mobile application and official website,” JPEX noted in an official blog post, calling the move a “prejudice and unfair treatment towards our platform.” The exchange has urged users to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access its platform.