PANews reported on October 30 that according to Hong Kong media Sing Tao Daily, JPEX is suspected of violating regulations in its promotion and operation in Hong Kong. In the first civil claim case, two victims demanded 240,000 Tether or 1.85 million Hong Kong dollars from JPEX Group and other seven defendants. One of the defendants, JPEX's registered company in Hong Kong, was absent from the hearing last month. Judge Chow Siu-man issued a verdict yesterday stating that the company, as an operator, held assets and constituted an express trust but breached its duties. In particular, the first plaintiff's case was obviously strong, so the company was ordered to pay compensation upon application by the two.
According to the statement of claim, the first defendant and the defendant, who are registered companies in Australia under JPEX, operate the JPEX virtual asset service and electronic platform. The plaintiff personally or in his name opened an account on the platform and deposited virtual currency. The plaintiff asked the court to rule that the second defendant had breached good faith and/or must reorganize and repay debts. The judge also stated that in many jurisdictions that exercise common law, including Hong Kong, the court accepts that cryptocurrencies are "property" and can form a trust. The judge agreed that the two defendants operated a cryptocurrency trading platform, which recorded the flow of currency between accounts, and there were trustee benefits and terms of agreement between the parties. Therefore, the defendants breached their duties as trustees and transferred assets without authorization.
