David Pan, the founder of Ace Exchange, a local cryptocurrency trading platform in Taiwan, has been officially charged with criminal offenses. Prosecutors have indicted Pan and six other suspects, accusing him of money laundering and fraud, resulting in a loss of 340 million New Taiwan dollars or $10.6 million.
In January, Taipei City police arrested Pan and 14 other individuals believed to be connected to the case. The arrests were made during raids on various locations, including Ace’s headquarters. The authorities stated that Pan was involved in the operation of a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet service called “Alfred” or “Afu wallet,” along with its associated crypto card.
The prosecutors claim that the individuals in question used an old-fashioned scam method known as the high-demand scam. This method involves enticing investors with promises of high returns on their investments. However, once the investors provided their money, they were unable to withdraw their assets or discovered that their accounts had been frozen. As a result, the Taiwan court has ordered property seizures against the accused, with a minimum value of confiscated assets amounting to 3.5 million TWD, equivalent to approximately $110,000.
Ace Exchange has responded to the charges by releasing a statement. The company emphasized that the wallet product in question was developed by a third-party team endorsed by former director Pan and was not a product or service of Ace Exchange. The company also assured its users that it was working with local regulators and that trading through Pingtung International Exchange was still operating normally. They stated that users’ assets were safe and that there would be no impact on deposit and withdrawal processes for all cryptocurrencies and New Taiwan dollars.
