{"id":9885,"date":"2024-04-10T22:35:50","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T22:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/taiwanese-crypto-exchange-founder-charged-with-money-laundering-and-fraud\/"},"modified":"2024-04-10T22:35:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T22:35:50","slug":"taiwanese-crypto-exchange-founder-charged-with-money-laundering-and-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/taiwanese-crypto-exchange-founder-charged-with-money-laundering-and-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwanese Crypto Exchange Founder Charged With Money Laundering And Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Pan, the founder of the Taiwanese crypto exchange ACE, alongside six other suspects, has been charged by prosecutors with fraud and money laundering. According to the official press release, a court ruled the confiscation of Pan\u2019s assets.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Crypto_Fraud_Investigation_Ends_With_Indictment_And_Seizing_Of_Assets\"><\/span>Crypto Fraud Investigation Ends With Indictment And Seizing Of Assets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In January 2024, news broke of one of the largest crypto exchanges in Taiwan being under police investigation for alleged fraud. The investigation unveiled a \u201cwell-organized\u201d scheme by ACE exchange founders David Pan and Lin Nam to \u201cdeceive\u201d victims into investing in worthless virtual currencies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The police raided over 15 locations, including ACE headquarters, and arrested 14 individuals, including Pan and Lin, as part of the investigation. Additionally, over NT$200 million, worth $6.4 million, were seized during the raids.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The investigation of the suspected money laundering and fraud of ACE and its investee company, Fu Hai Digital Innovation Company, continued. As a result, the Taichung District Attorney&#8217;s Office prosecutors <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tcc.moj.gov.tw\/media\/354574\/%E8%87%BA%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%B0%E6%AA%A2%E7%BD%B2%E5%81%B5%E8%BE%A6%E7%8E%8B%E7%89%8C-ace-%E7%AD%89%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E6%B6%89%E5%AB%8C%E6%B4%97%E9%8C%A2%E7%AD%89%E6%A1%88%E4%BB%B6-%E7%B6%93%E6%AA%A2%E5%AF%9F%E5%AE%98%E5%81%B5%E6%9F%A5%E7%B5%82%E7%B5%90%E6%8F%90%E8%B5%B7%E5%85%AC%E8%A8%B4.pdf?mediaDL=true\">indicted<\/a> Pan and six other suspects with criminal charges this week.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The defendants are accused of violating the Organized Crime Prevention Ordinance, aggravated fraud, and money laundering. The press release states that 162 victims were affected, and the money lost in the fraud amounts to over NT$340 million, worth around $10.7 million.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The prosecutors asked the Taiwanese court to consider that the \u201ccircumstances of the crime are significant, and the malice is grave.\u201d As a result, a judge approved the seizing of property of the seven individuals accused.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Around NT$3.48 million in crypto was seized, alongside NT$ 27.5 million in real estate properties, NT$140,000 in deposits, and NT$485,000 in cash. The total amount seized reaches over NT$31.6 million.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Web_of_Lies_And_ACEs_Response\"><\/span>Web of Lies And ACE&#8217;s Response<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prosecutors found that the defendants engaged in \u201coffline and over-the-counter transactions of virtual currencies through the \u2018Alfred Wallet\u2019 App.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the press release, Fu Hai created the Alfred Wallet and offered the A+Card, which was used for fraud. The virtual currency stored-value cards were sold in cooperation with fake investment online groups that promoted them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the help of social media groups, the fraudsters promoted and hyped investing in virtual currencies, as crypto \u201ccould yield considerable returns.\u201d Moreover, they promoted the purchase of TIDE tokens from specific dealers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Per the investigation, the accused took advantage of the broad belief that physical stores are more trustworthy. As a result, they urged the victims to purchase their tokens at local stores authorized to operate Fu Hai\u2019s Alfred Wallet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Personnel in the store would aid the victims in using the A+Card to store their tokens in the Alfred Wallet. However, the defendants used the \u201coperation mode\u201d of the app to manage the wallets. Using this method, the \u201ctransfer of currency flows could not be publicly queried in the blockchain ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Subsequently, the system was used to manipulate the addresses of users\u2019 wallets and control the funds from the backend. When victims tried withdrawing their funds, the members of the fraudulent group would find excuses like \u201cwrong orders\u201d and \u201caccount problems\u201d or refuse to give reasons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Following the indictment, ACE <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ace.io\/news\/1466\">published<\/a> a statement distancing itself from its founder. The crypto exchange clarified that the Alfred Wallet was not an ACE product, as it \u201cwas developed by a third party commissioned by the former director Pan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Finally, the exchange reassured users that its trading and operating conditions were normal, guaranteeing the safety of its users\u2019 assets.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Pan, the founder of the Taiwanese crypto exchange ACE, alongside six other suspects, has been charged by prosecutors with fraud and money laundering. According to the official press release, a court ruled the confiscation of Pan\u2019s assets. Crypto Fraud Investigation Ends With Indictment And Seizing Of Assets In January 2024, news broke of one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Taiwanese Crypto Exchange Founder Charged With Money Laundering And Fraud - Bitrabo","description":"David Pan, the founder of the Taiwanese crypto exchange ACE, alongside six other suspects, has been charged by prosecutors with fraud and money laundering. 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