Hong Kong court adjourns $206 million JPEX fraud case to March

In the Hong Kong JPEX scam case, prosecutors have been allowed to adjourn the case until next year to sort out the case file at a hearing in the city's Eastern Magistrates' Court on Monday, Decrypt reported. The next hearing will be held on March 16, when a group of social media Internet celebrities accused of promoting JPEX and acting as "facades" for its over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading shop will appear in court.
Seven of the eight defendants who appeared in court were granted bail under the original conditions. The accused include lawyer-turned-Internet celebrity Lin Zuo, YouTube blogger Chen Yingyi, former TVB actor Cheng Junxi and fitness trainer Zhao Jingxian. Zheng Junxi, who did not apply for bail, will continue to be detained. In September 2023, after the Hong Kong Securities Supervision Commission warned that JPEX was operating without a license and had misleading publicity, it declared bankruptcy and user withdrawals were frozen. Authorities said more than 2,700 victims lost more than $206 million (HK $1.60 billion). On November 5 this year, the police arrested and prosecuted 16 people, including 6 core members, 7 OTC affiliates and 3 puppet account holders. More than 80 people were arrested in the investigation. JPEX also publicized victimization in the Philippines and Taiwan, and the three masterminds behind it were on the run and wanted by Interpol.