Seychelles-based Houbi Global has been accused by lawyer Jonathan Levy of operating without accountability to any jurisdiction. The lawyer adds that the physical address of the exchange in the island nation is for postal purposes only.
liability issues
American lawyer Jonathan Levy accused cryptocurrency exchange Huobi of running a decentralized global operation that "operates everywhere but is accountable nowhere." Levyโs indictment follows the Seychelles-registered cryptocurrency exchangeโs alleged intransigence that ultimately led to a French citizen losing his funds to a Chinese scammer.
Prior to the disappearance of the Chinese citizen along with the stolen funds, the anonymous victim, with the help of Ciphertrace, successfully located the scammer's account with Huobi. Based on the victim's efforts, the French national police opened an investigation and requested the cryptocurrency exchange's assistance in recovering the funds.
Huobi presence in Seychelles
However, according to a statement released by the lawyer, the fraud victim's attempts to recover her funds were ultimately thwarted by Houbi's refusal to cooperate with French and Seychelles law enforcement. He explained:
Huobi Global misled the French police and claimed that they were under the jurisdiction of Seychelles. This delay allowed the criminal to escape with his loot. When the Seychelles police finally investigated, it was too late and by their own admission they lacked jurisdiction over the crime, as Huobi's presence in that island nation is just a mailing address.
Meanwhile, Levy points to this latest incident as another example of why authorities in Europe need to set up a โSuperfundโ financed by the crypto industry. He said such a fund would prove useful to victims of crypto crime, such as the French citizen, whose only hope of recovering the funds now rests with the European Union or the OECDthe intervention of .
Regarding the ability of leading crypto exchanges to make sufficient contributions to any such superfund, Levy argues that platforms like Huobi (whose daily crypto volume exceeds $10 billion) and the other top ten exchanges are well positioned. to make such contributions.
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