Australian regulator takes former Blockchain Global director to court

Australia’s markets regulator has filed civil proceedings against Liang “Allan” Guo, the former director of Blockchain Global. 

Guo will face the court on “allegations relating to multiple breaches of his directors’ duties,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a May 28 press release.

ASIC alleged Guo made multiple breaches of directors’ duties relating to his dealings with ACX Exchange customer funds, and claimed he made false and misleading statements about those dealings and failed to maintain proper books and records. 

The now-liquidated Blockchain Global operated the ACX Exchange from mid-2016 until December 2019, when it collapsed as customers could no longer withdraw their assets. 

During liquidator’s examinations in 2022, the courts were told that ACX exchange took the cash invested by its customers to buy crypto and mingled the funds into one pooled fund, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time. 

The liquidators of Blockchain Global estimate that the company owed over 20 million Australian dollars ($12.8 million) in unsecured creditor claims to former customers of the ACX Exchange, ASIC said.

In November 2023, liquidators reported that Blockchain Global had 58.6 million Australian dollars ($37.7 million) owed to unsecured creditors. Of that total, 22.7 million Australian dollars ($14.6 million) were unsecured creditor claims received from former customers of the crypto exchange.

ASIC said it began investigating Blockchain Global in January 2024 following the liquidators’ report. 

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Guo was banned from leaving the country as the regulator investigated whether he committed any criminal offences, including transferring money from the collapsed exchange to pay his mortgage.

Guo left Australia in September 2024 after travel restraint orders expired, and he hasn’t returned, it noted. 

Meanwhile, ASIC is seeking the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling in favor of fintech firm Block Earner in a separate case. 

The regulator claimed the crypto company’s fixed-yield earning service was not a financial product.

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