Taiwan Police Raid Ace Exchange: Founder Arrested, $3.5M in Crypto Seized

The authorities in Taiwan raided the premises of a local crypto exchange, Ace Exchange, and arrested the Co-Founder, David Pan, for alleged fraud, Liberty Times reported yesterday (Thursday).

Investigation against Taiwan’s Top Crypto Exchange

Pan was one of the 14 people from Ace Exchange arrested by the Taiwan police. The arrests were made as the police raided several locations connected to the cryptocurrency exchange, including its headquarters in Taipei City. The police seized a massive amount of cash from Pan’s residence and 108 million Taiwanese dollars (about $3.48 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from the company. Reports suggest that Pan and other individuals are not cooperating with the investigation.

The authorities alleged that the individuals at Ace earned roughly 200 million Taiwanese dollars (about US$6.4 million) by deceiving the crypto investors with false claims. Over the past three years, over 100 crypto investors have fallen victim to fraudulent claims.

According to the Taiwan police, Pan ran fraudulent advertisements on social media, including Facebook and Instagram, promoting ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes.

Launched in November 2018, Ace is one of Taiwan's top three cryptocurrency exchanges, along with MaiCoin and BitoGroup. It is one of the members of the local industry association, which was formed with the changing regulatory requirements in the country.

Exchange Operations Remain Normal

In a statement, the exchange clarified that the police action was against its “token project side” and not on the exchange operations.

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“Some currencies listed in 2019 were involved in illegal activities,” Wang Chenhuan, the President of ACE Exchange, wrote in a blog post following the police action. “ACE is cooperating with the investigation as a witness.“

“Some media reported that our employees were involved in the case, which is not true. We have sent a letter to the media to correct it.”

Meanwhile, Ace will delist the MOCT/TWD trading pair next Monday, and highlighted that “subsequent currency deposit and withdrawal functions will not be affected.”

Last November, the COO of another Taiwanese crypto exchange was arrested for his alleged connection with an infamous money laundering incident in the country.