🤑 Mr. Zhu’s Crypto Caper: More Charges, Less Charm! 🕵️♂️

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What Ho, Old Bean! Here’s the Lowdown:

  • The chaps in Hong Kong have chucked three more money laundering charges at our old pal, influencer “Mr. Zhu,” in the JPEX kerfuffle. 🧾💸
  • Apparently, HK$18.8 million went waltzing through his digital bank accounts over nearly three years. Quite the financial fandango! 💃🤑
  • The whole shebang’s off to the District Court, as the powers-that-be tighten the screws on unlicensed crypto shenanigans. ⚖️🔒

Well, I’ll be jiggered! The Hong Kong authorities have really turned up the heat in the JPEX scandal, slapping three extra money laundering charges on Zhu Jiahui, better known as “Mr. Zhu” to his adoring (and now possibly appalled) fans. 🌟💔

According to the local rag, prosecutors gave the original charge a bit of a spruce-up during a January 2 hearing at the Eastern Magistrates’ Court, accusing Zhu of juggling criminal proceeds to the tune of HK$18.78 million. Quite the tidy sum, what? 🧮💰

This dosh, they say, went gallivanting through accounts at digital lenders like ZA Bank, Mox Bank, Livi Bank, and WeLab Bank from late 2020 to mid-2023. Prosecutors reckon it’s a clear pattern of suspicious activity-though one might say it’s less “pattern” and more “financial farce.” 🎭💸

Off to the District Court, Sharpish!

The Department of Justice has had a chinwag with their legal eagles and decided this whole affair is too spiffing to stay in the lower courts. Magistrate Lam Tsz-kang has adjourned proceedings until March 27 to get the paperwork in order. Zhu’s still out on bail, mind you, but I wouldn’t bet on him planning any jaunts abroad just yet. ✈️🚫

Prosecutors claim Zhu either knew or jolly well should have known the funds were dodgy, yet he processed them anyway. With these new charges, he’s now facing four counts of money laundering. Quite the quartet, eh? 🎶⚖️

Part of the Bigger JPEX Brouhaha

This whole business is part of Hong Kong’s crackdown on JPEX, that unlicensed crypto platform that went belly-up in 2023 after investors found their funds frozen tighter than a penguin’s smile. 🐧❄️ Investigators say the platform leaned heavily on influencers and over-the-counter promoters to lure in the unsuspecting, despite lacking the proper regulatory nod.

Earlier raids nabbed at least 16 folks tied to the scheme, including influencer Joseph Lam, who’s now facing fraud, money laundering, and unlicensed promotion charges. The net’s widened so much that Interpol’s stuck their oar in, issuing Red Notices for suspects who’ve scarpered. This case has gone from local scandal to international drama, old sport! 🌍🕵️♂️

Regulators Are Having None of It

Hong Kong’s regulators have treated JPEX like a cautionary tale, and they’re not beating about the bush. The Securities and Futures Commission had already flagged the platform for its glossy promises of sky-high returns and fuzzy claims about licenses that never existed. Talk about a red flag! 🚩✨

As the case marches up to the higher courts, the message is crystal clear: peddling crypto to your followers without licenses, disclosures, or guardrails is no longer a gray-area hustle. In Hong Kong, it’s looking more like a one-way ticket to criminal charges. 🚂⚖️

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2026-01-03 00:17