Hong Kong exchange founder in police custody over alleged bank fraud

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The founder of a Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange has reportedly been taken away by authorities in connection with his alleged involvement in bank fraud. The founder has reportedly been missing for 15 days, leading to a suspension of withdrawals at the exchange.

CEO Global digital currency exchange revealed recently that authorities have held their founder for 15 days now, with no indication of when they will release him. According to the exchange’s statement, the founder is a victim of an ongoing crackdown on fraudulent bank accounts and SIM cards.

According to local sources in China, the government launched a crackdown on fake SIM cards and fraudulent bank accounts three months ago. In its first round of enforcement, it arrested 4,600 suspects and seized 65,000 SIM cards and bank accounts.

The report stated that Chinese citizens unwilling to disclose their identities opt to buy SIM cards or bank accounts opened under other people’s names. This has especially become popular in the digital currency world as China cracks down on the industry. The government has been cracking down on this practice, stating that it’s aiding fraud and scams.

In a statement, the CEO Global digital currency exchange said, “Affected by the ongoing national crackdown on fraudulent SIM cards and bank accounts, the bank account of one of our core founders has received illicit money from international fraudsters and scammers. He has been taken away for 15 days for the investigation.”

The founder is the sole holder of the cold wallet private keys, according to the trading platform. As a result, users could only access the digital currencies the exchange had in its hot wallets. The exchange decided to halt withdrawals altogether as it awaits the release of its founder.

CEO Global is also shutting down its over-the-counter trading desk, citing “uncertainty in regulatory policies.” It promised its users that it will reopen withdrawals and the OTC desk once it sorts out its internal issues.

“All user assets are safe,” the exchange added.

According to its website, the exchange processed 14.8 billion Qcash (QC) worth of trading volume in the past 24 hours, worth $2.26 billion. It offers Bitcoin SV and dozens of other digital currencies to trade against USDT and Qcash, a stablecoin that seeks to mirror the value of the Chinese yuan.