Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee also said on Saturday that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had filed a police report two days ago, adding that the case was being investigated by the commercial crimes bureau of the force.
He said police had received 83 complaints as of 3pm on Friday and asked other victims to contact the force's 24-hour hotline at 28605012 or report their case online.
On Wednesday, the commission warned potential investors that JPEX had not submitted any license applications and asked the public to be wary of any opportunity that seemed โtoo good to be true.โ
The watchdog also said the trading platform had made false claims that it had obtained licenses from foreign regulators, as well as offering high returns on savings products.
JPEX also relied on misleading statements made by social media influencers "who are often paid promoters," the commission added.
The securities regulator has placed two companies affiliated with JPEX on its watch list since July last year, indicating that the platform was seeking Hong Kong investors without the proper license.
Crypto Exchange JPEX Is Misleading Investors, Says Hong Kong SFC
Crypto Exchange JPEX Is Misleading Investors, Says Hong Kong SFC
Some users of the exchange also reported problems withdrawing virtual assets from their online accounts in the days after the regulator issued the warning.
One Tether token is worth around 1 US dollar.
The group's administrator asked to be identified only by his username, @CryptoTraderL, citing threats of harassment in the past, and told the Post on Saturday that the chat had received around 200 "serious" complaints involving more than 10 million of dollars in virtual assets.
"But I think it's just the tip of the iceberg because, according to blockchain transaction records, JPEX has more than 30,000 users involving more than $300 million," he said.
Hong Kong Crypto Adoption Ranking Drops One Place in Chainalysis Report
Hong Kong Crypto Adoption Ranking Drops One Place in Chainalysis Report
The group administrator accused the platform of selling tokens to a growing number of users despite having a limited pool of USDT and said unknown investors could be vulnerable to rumors generated by social media influencers.
The cryptocurrency exchange established a presence in Hong Kong more than two years ago and ran aggressive promotional campaigns that included advertisements at MTR stations in Central, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay.
Chen has since told local media that his contract with JPEX ended at the end of July.
The identities and locations of JPEX's owners remain unclear due to the company's opaque corporate setup.
