Authorities in Taiwan are reportedly accusing crypto exchange executives and dozens of others of running a multimillion-dollar crypto scam.
According to a new report by the Taipei Times, prosecutors are charging 32 people with fraud allegedly related to the ACE crypto exchange, recommending 20-year sentences for the four operators of the trading platform.
Those arrested include David Pan and Lin Keng-hong, the founders of the ACE crypto exchange platform, and Wang Chen-huan, the chairman of the firm. The Taiwanese government says that the scheme defrauded about 1,200 out of $24.56 million.
Prosecutors say the suspects started encouraging others to purchase virtual currencies, including the native asset of the ACE exchange – starting in 2019.
Though Pan and Lin told investors the plan was to turn ACE into the premier crypto trading platform in Taiwan, the value of its native asset greatly decreased and investors were subsequently unable to convert the digital asset back into Taiwanese dollars, according to the report.
However, prosecutors say that the suspects manipulated the price of assets on the platform as a means of drawing in more investors.
Wang is accused of receiving $5.5 million and reinjecting about half of that back into ACE as a means of bolstering asset prices, deceiving traders in the process.
Prosecutors are recommending 20 years for Pan and Lin and 12 years for Wang, according to the report.
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