Taiwanese prosecutors have charged six suspects, including David Pan, founder of ACE Exchange, one of Taiwan’s major exchanges, with money laundering and fraud involving assets worth at least $10.7 million.
Prosecutors said Monday that ACE is believed to have set up an offshore entity to provide an “Alfred Wallet” service to entice investors to deposit stablecoins into so-called wallets. The suspects reportedly later transferred and laundered the assets.
According to the statement, victims realized they had been scammed when they were unable to withdraw assets from their wallets. Prosecutors said the group is believed to have defrauded at least 162 individuals of more than NT$342 million ($10.7 million).
ACE Exchange responded to the allegations against its founder in a statement, saying Pan was a former executive and that the wallet service involved in the incident was not part of ACE and was solely developed by Pan and a third-party team he hired.
“Please rest assured, the trading and operational status of ACE Exchange is completely normal,” ACE said. “We ensure the security of user assets. Cryptocurrency and New Taiwan Dollar deposit and withdrawal services are all operating smoothly.”
A troubled entrepreneur
Pan was also detained for another fraud case he allegedly masterminded. In January, Fan and co-conspirator Lin were accused of working together for three years to use false advertising on social media to entice investors to invest in certain cryptocurrencies.
After news of Pan’s arrest broke in January, ACE said in a statement that Pan had stopped participating in its day-to-day operations starting in 2022.
Founded in 2018, ACE is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Taiwan, along with BitoGroup and MaiCoin. ACE said at the time that its management complies with the law and “will not tolerate misconduct by anyone.”
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.