14 Arrested In Sensational $6.4m Taiwan Crypto Exchange Plot

The Taiwanese police have arrested the founder of ACE Exchange along with 13 other suspects and seized assets worth $6.4 million from the platform.

ACE Exchange, one of Taiwan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has recently become embroiled in a notorious scandal, as reported by Liberty Times on the afternoon of January 4th (Vietnam time).

ACE, one of Taiwan's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was investigated by the criminal police for suspected fraud. The reason was for promoting shitcoins. A total of 14 people were arrested by the police, and the amount of fraud exceeded NT$1 billion. https://t.co/NYCkg1S49X

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 4, 2024

Founder David Pan was arrested along with 13 other suspects on charges of fraud. Pan and a co-conspirator surnamed Lin are alleged to have colluded with each other for the past three years, disseminating false information about their platform to lure investors into investing in worthless cryptocurrencies, especially MOCT.

Also yesterday, police raided multiple locations in Taiwan, including the ACE Exchange headquarters, and seized NT$111.52 million (equivalent to US$3.6 million) in cash from Lin’s residence. In total, police seized over NT$200 million (US$6.4 million) in illegal assets from the platform.

Confirming to The Block, a spokesperson for ACE Exchange stated that the arrested individual was not an ACE employee. They further mentioned that although Pan founded the company, he has not been involved in any ACE activities since 2022. ACE Exchange is currently cooperating with the Taiwanese police in an investigatory capacity.

Following the news, ACE Exchange announced the delisting of the MOCT token on January 8th, a coin listed on the platform since 2019. To appease the community, the platform allows users to convert their holdings of MOCT tokens into dining or hotel vouchers.

Established in 2018, ACE stands as one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in Taiwan, alongside BitoGroup and MaiCoin. In its latest response to the controversy, ACE asserts that the exchange is operating as usual and continuously assesses market conditions for listing or delisting tokens on the platform.

各位可能有看到新聞了。 ACE 在這邊澄清該行為是代幣項目方行為，跟交易所營運沒關聯。目前營運都正常，如有遇到提幣問題 可以透過我們官方渠道詢問

【ACE王牌法幣加密貨幣交易所聲明稿】https://t.co/VnoekKpWL2

— ACE Exchange (@ACE_exchange) January 4, 2024

Today’s incident unfolds amid a tense global regulatory landscape for crypto. CoinDCX recently faced rumors of Delhi police probing allegations of bank fraud and cryptocurrency irregularities on the platform’s mobile app. Several users have complained about anomalies in the withdrawal process from the exchange.

Similarly, Lee Jeong-hoon, former Chairman of Bithumb, a major South Korean crypto exchange, was earlier this year indicted and faces a potential 8-year sentence for fraud. However, the legal battle remains ongoing, awaiting an appeal verdict later this month.

* We hope this information will help you in your investment process, but this is not investment advice. Every investment carries risk, especially in this industry, so DYOR before making a decision.