The SFC and Hong Kong Police are looking into Hounax, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange, following 145 fraud claims.
After multiple people connected to the JPEX cryptocurrency scam were taken into custody, Hounax, a different virtual asset trading site situated in Hong Kong, was shut down.
Local media state that 145 victims had notified the Hong Kong Police of losses totaling about HK$148 million. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) disclosed that it has received eighteen complaints concerning Hounax, ranging from HK$12,000 to HK$10 million.
The SFC’s CEO, Julia Leung, made it clear that Hounax has not requested a license from the organization and is not a licensed virtual asset trading platform.
As a result, the SFC cannot stop it from operating, but it has added the platform to its list of unregistered businesses and dubious websites. Authorities in Taiwan detained a number of people connected to the JPEX affair earlier in November.
Nearly $213 million was lost as a result of the fraud. The JPEX probe is far from over because prominent Taiwanese celebrities are now under investigation for their part in serving as brand ambassadors and promoting the exchange.
Regulators in Hong Kong have been tightening crypto restrictions since JPEX, and this trend will probably continue in the wake of the most recent accusations made against Hounax.
