HK$75m Hong Kong bitcoin investment scam
Police arrest five Hongkongers after more than 50 clients claim they were unable to withdraw funds from investment accounts
Police are searching for the directors and shareholders of an investment company after more than 50 clients of a Hong Kong-based bitcoin trading platform claimed they had been cheated out of HK$75 million.
The hunt was revealed after officers from the commercial crime bureau picked up five Hongkongers yesterday in connection with the case.
Two brothers, aged 34 and 37, and three women, aged from 48 to 55, were arrested for conspiracy to defraud.
The arrests follow the sudden collapse of bitcoin trading platform MyCoin last month. The collapse sparked fears that up to 3,000 Hongkongers would lose their investment in the virtual currency, which has soared in popularity in recent years but has also been at the centre of a string of controversies.
One of the women was picked up when officers boarded a casino ship anchored off North Point yesterday morning.
Police caught the other four at their homes in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Wong Tai Sin and North Point. The source said four of those arrested were unemployed and the fifth suspect was an insurance agent.
“The three women were accused of collecting money from some of the victims to help them invest in bitcoin trading between January and December last year,” he said.
“The two male suspects were alleged to have arranged venues to promote the investment.”
At about 5.30pm, officers from the commercial crime unit escorted one of the women back to her home in Lung Wo House at the Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate to search her house.
In addition to the five arrested yesterday, police are still searching for a number of other people in connection with the case. “They include former and current directors and shareholders of the investment company involved,” the source said.
Last night, the five suspects were being held for questioning. None had been charged.
While police refused to reveal the name of the company clients identified the firm as Rich Might Investment.
The commercial crime bureau began an investigation after police received complaints last month from 43 investors who were involved in bitcoin trading platform MyCoin. Police later received more complaints.
The complainants claimed that they had invested in bitcoin trading through Rich Might since January last year.
“They claimed their accounts were not in operation since December last year,” a police spokeswoman said. “They were unable to make withdrawals from their accounts and could not continue trading. They suspected they had been cheated.”
The investors alleged MyCoin operated as a pyramid scheme trading in the digital currency.
Companies Registry records show that William Dennis Atwood resigned as director of Rich Might on November 10 last year before it changed trading rules to stop investors cashing in all their bitcoin. Atwood transferred all of his shares on the same day to a British Virgin Islands-based company, Fascinating Horizon Overseas.
A woman named Wong Lok-yan then replaced Atwood as sole director of Rich Might, according to the records. She resigned on January 28, the records show.
In January, the company posted a notice at its office in Tsim Sha Tsui saying it would be closed for renovation. Some investors claimed the closure of the company may have cost investors a combined HK$3 billion.
Source: SCMP – Directors hunted in alleged HK$75m Hong Kong bitcoin investment scam
