Ace Exchange Involved in Fake Investment and Real Fraud
Previously, “Crypto City” reported that Taiwan’s Ace Virtual Currency Exchange (ACE) has been accused of establishing “Alfred Wallet” and “A+CARD” prepaid cards, implementing fake investments and real fraud through physical stores. The main suspects further deceived victims, totaling up to 1,200 individuals, by issuing air coins and other methods, with the amount involved exceeding 2.2 billion New Taiwan Dollars.
In January and February of this year, law enforcement conducted searches of Ace Exchange and Fuhai Digital Innovation Company, detaining Ace Exchange founder Pan Yizhang and 10 others, including a man surnamed Xu, who is responsible for Fuhai Digital Innovation Company. In April of this year, the Taichung District Prosecutor’s Office indicted Pan Yizhang and six others.
According to the investigation results from the Taichung District Prosecutor’s Office, a man surnamed Pan and his partners collaborated with a fake investment fraud group, seeking victims through social media platforms such as Facebook and LINE. They gained victims’ trust through high returns and gifts, exploiting the public’s preconceived notion that “physical equals legal” to guide victims to fraud through “physical stores” operated by Fuhai Company.
Law Enforcement Pursues Physical Stores
After investigations by the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Telecommunications Investigation Team and the criminal police teams in Taichung and Kaohsiung, large-scale searches were conducted from April to May this year, targeting four businesses: “UBC” in Taoyuan, “Xinfu Dai” in Kaohsiung, “Ha U” in New Taipei, and “Bi Bi Digital” in New Taipei, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, totaling six stores.
Ultimately, law enforcement detained 49-year-old Tu, the person in charge of UBC, 36-year-old Zhang, the person in charge of Xinfu Dai, along with their store manager and employees, totaling 13 individuals. However, the individuals responsible for Ha U and Bi Bi Digital are still at large. The prosecution applied for detention of Tu, while Zhang and 12 others were released on bail ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 New Taiwan Dollars, with the court setting Tu’s bail at 200,000 New Taiwan Dollars.
Other problematic individuals were detained between June and December last year, including Sun, the person in charge of “Slowly Dining,” Wu, the person in charge of “Mi Le,” Li, the person in charge of “Golden Sphere,” and Zhuang, the person in charge of “Matuans,” totaling 16 individuals.
Regulatory Authorities Need to Strengthen Efforts
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission, the regulatory authority for cryptocurrencies and virtual assets, issued “VASP Guidelines” last year, requiring businesses to declare and comply with anti-money laundering laws. Currently, 25 virtual currency operators have completed compliance declarations, and cryptocurrency-related businesses, including ACE Exchange at the center of the incident, have applied to the government to establish an association to formulate self-regulatory norms as of December last year.
Despite the government’s strengthened regulation of the virtual currency market, exchanges that have completed anti-money laundering compliance declarations have continued to be implicated in scandals, indicating that the government still has a long way to go in regulating virtual currency trading platforms and related businesses.
“Crypto City” also reminds citizens that social fraud is rampant today, and many products that are government-certified or endorsed by celebrities may not necessarily be legal. It is crucial to exercise caution, conduct thorough research, and prevent property loss when encountering any information related to investments or finances.
