JPEX Scam Case Update: Prosecution Applies for First Batch of 8 Defendants to be Transferred to Hong Kong High Court for Trial

On November 9th, according to Hong Kong media reports, the police are conducting an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange JPEX in connection with an alleged fraud case. As of now, 16 people have been prosecuted, with one person having been brought before the court earlier. The remaining 15 individuals are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, obstructing justice, and the offense of "fraudulently inducing others to invest in virtual assets" under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. Yesterday afternoon, multiple cases were presented in the Eastern District Court, and the 15 defendants were temporarily excused from entering a plea. The prosecution applied to transfer the cases of the first group of 8 defendants to the High Court for trial and postponed the hearing to December 15th. Among the first group of 8 defendants, except for the bail application of former artist Zheng Junxi being rejected by the court and requiring continued detention, the remaining 7 individuals were granted bail pending trial. Internet celebrities Lin Zuo and Chen Yingyi were each granted bail of $300,000. Lin Zuo is charged with one count of fraud and one alternative count (that is, "fraudulently inducing others to invest in virtual assets"). The charge alleges that between July 8, 2023, and September 12, 2023, he made false representations or allowed others to make false statements and made fraudulent or misleading false statements to others to induce them to enter into agreements related to the acquisition, disposal, subscription, or underwriting of virtual assets. The prosecution pointed out that Lin Zuo was said to have been able to successfully withdraw assets from JPEX, possessed insider information about JPEX that ordinary investors could not obtain, and claimed that investing in specific virtual assets through JPEX could yield a certain percentage of returns.