Seven out of eight defendants -- including social media influencer Joseph Lam Chok -- have been granted bail after they were charged with conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and perverting the course of justice over the JPEX crypto trading platform scandal.
The case was mentioned at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on Thursday, after police announced that 15 individuals had been arrested and charged.
Lam was charged with fraud and an alternative charge of fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets, as he was alleged to have knowingly misrepresented a material fact that he had successfully withdrawn assets from JPEX and possessed access to JPEX information that was not available to the general public.
It was the first time that the police used "fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets" under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance enacted in 2023 for prosecution.
Lam, influencer Chan Wing-yee -- commonly known as Chan Yee -- and actor Cheng Chun-hei are among the eight being listed as first defendants with a total of 33 charges in the case.
Also charged are Sheena Leung – dubbed the "goddess of crypto" by followers – YouTuber Chu Ka-fai, and executives from the OTC platform Coingaroo, including general manager Felix Chiu King-yin and operations director Keith Au.
The prosecutors applied to transfer the case to the High Court for trial, and the case is set for mention on December 15. Lam and Chan were granted cash bail of HK$300,000 and ordered not to leave Hong Kong. The other six defendants, except Cheng as the prosecution requested, were granted bail of HK$50,000 to HK$100,000.
Another seven defendants in the case, including over-the-counter (OTC) operators, were accused of fraud, money laundering, and fraudulently or recklessly inducing others to invest in virtual assets.
The case, Hong Kong's largest alleged financial fraud, involves 2,636 victims with total reported losses reaching approximately HK$1.616 billion as of February this year.
The police have arrested 80 individuals including 14 core members of the JPEX group, while two masterminds and one core member of the group had fled overseas since the investigation began in 2023. Interpol red notices have been issued for the trio.
Assets worth approximately HK$228 million were seized, including cryptocurrency valued at HK$14.5 million, alongside property holdings, luxury vehicles, bank balances, and cash.
