1 year ago
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department is looking to tighten regulatory measures to code the money-laundering risks associated with cash-for-crypto shops, South China Morning Post reported connected Oct. 21. The determination comes aft constabulary arrested immoderate of these store owners successful transportation with the alleged $192.7 cardinal fraud perpetrated JPEX crypto exchange.
In Hong Kong, accepted wealth changers are overseen by the Customs and Excise Department. However, over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency speech shops presently run without licensing oregon regulatory oversight. Some of these OTC shops promoted JPEX’s concern offerings, which the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) deemed “too bully to beryllium true.”
Louise Ho Pui-shan, the commissioner of Customs and Excise, said that Hong Kong regulatory bodies are reviewing options to capable the regulatory gaps exposed by the JPEX scandal. Speaking connected television, Ho said:
“There are 2 aspects to [regulating] these OTC speech shops. One facet involves combating wealth laundering and violent financing and the different is capitalist protection.”
According to Ho, successful bid to amended Hong Kong’s crypto regulatory regime, some these aspects request to beryllium considered.
Ho said that the lawsuit section has witnessed accrued crypto wealth laundering cases, particularly successful large-scale schemes. She noted:
“Financial exertion is becoming much mature, truthful we person observed expanding enactment successful virtual plus transactions, which tin easy beryllium utilized by criminals for wealth laundering arsenic the transactions are much concealed and not restricted by clip and location.”
Therefore, her section intends to heighten planetary practice to combat wealth laundering facilitated by the anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions.
Later this month, Ho’s section volition motion a memorandum of practice with its South Korean counterpart to bolster quality sharing and enforcement collaboration. Additionally, the section plans to beforehand planetary practice against specified crimes arsenic it prepares to presume the relation of vice-chair for the Asia-Pacific portion astatine the World Customs Organization for a two-year word starting successful July 2024.
While Ho did not corroborate whether her section is actively progressive successful reviewing crypto regulations, she said determination is “always country to amended the instrumentality enforcement and surveillance regime.”
JPEX Scandal
Last month, JPEX users started reporting difficulties successful withdrawing assets from the platform, which arbitrarily hiked withdrawal fees to exorbitant amounts. The SFC called retired immoderate of the platform’s duplicitous actions, including mendacious claims of being regulated successful Dubai.
JPEX had utilized assertive selling tactics, including billboards and influencer marketing, to summation customers. Some of the influencers progressive successful promoting the level person been arrested.
The JPEX scandal has shaken the spot of Hong Kong investors successful the full plus class. Police person arrested 28 radical linked to the alleged fraud aft receiving implicit 2,500 complaints from victims. The constabulary probe into the substance is inactive ongoing.
Bitrace, a blockchain analytics firm, reported past period that immoderate Tether tokens processed successful online wallets associated with JPEX were linked to wealth laundering and online gambling, raising concerns astir the contamination of the tokens.
The station Hong Kong to ace down connected crypto wealth launderers successful the aftermath of $193M JPEX scandal appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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