10 defendants remanded in custody in JPEX cryptocurrency fraud case

A Hong Kong court has remanded in custody another 10 people in connection with the HK$1.6 billion (US$205.8 million) in JPEX cryptocurrency scandal, bringing the number prosecuted in the city’s largest alleged financial fraud in recent years to 26.The latest development came nearly three years after the scandal broke out in 2023, when police revealed that more than 2,700 people had fallen victim to the alleged scam involving losses of more than HK$1.6 billion.Twenty-three counts of money laundering and conspiracy to launder money were read out to four men and six women, aged between 26 and 47, at Eastern Court. They applied for bail but Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai rejected their requests.Seven defendants – clerk Wong Chui-man, 35, beautician Wong Shuk-wai, 33, jewellery promoter Ma Yin-ling, 30, consultant Ngai Chi-man, 26, unemployed Li Ting-ting, 31, customer service officer Wu Ka-man, 34, and saleswoman Lau Ka-yan, 30 – will have their cases transferred to the District Court for future proceedings.The magistrate ordered that they be remanded in custody until the next hearing on June 18.The seven are accused of laundering money from 16 bank accounts between September 2020 and January 2024, with each defendant’s alleged dealings involving HK$4 million to HK$14 million.Two other men – merchant Calvin Nip Chun, 36, and unemployed Lo Ki, 32 – face five counts of money laundering and one of conspiring to launder money.