The Hong Kong Police have launched an investigation into Hounax, a cryptocurrency trading platform, following multiple complaints of scams totaling $15.4 million. Victims claim that they were lured into investing in crypto on the platform but faced difficulties when trying to withdraw their funds. Some victims are blaming the authorities for their losses. One victim, Ng, explained how the scammers gained users’ trust by providing financial advice on stocks through Meta-owned social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Ng conducted due diligence on the platform and found it listed in a Canadian business registry, but a search on the Hong Kong police CyberDefender website yielded no results for the platform. The warning from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) about Hounax came too late for many investors who had already put their money into the platform. Lawmakers in Hong Kong criticized the SFC for not taking a more proactive approach to identifying such risks and for allowing fraudsters to operate in a legal gray zone. This investigation follows a previous inquiry into the JPEX scandal, where more than 2500 complaints were received and around $193 million was allegedly lost to scammers.

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Information	Details
Geography	Asia
Countries	🇭🇰 🇨🇦
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	Johnny Ng Kit-chong, Doreen Kong Yuk-foon
Companies	Hong Kong Police, South China Morning Post, Hounax, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Meta
Currencies	None
Securities	None