David Pan, the founder of Ace Exchange, a cryptocurrency trading platform in Taiwan, is facing legal action from prosecutors. Alongside six other suspects, Pan was indicted on April 8 for charges of money laundering and fraud, resulting in losses of 340 million New Taiwan dollars ($10.6 million).
Pan and 14 others were previously arrested by Taipei City police in January 2024 following raids on various locations, including Ace’s headquarters. The investigation revealed that Pan was involved in a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet service called “Alfred” or “Afu wallet,” as well as a related crypto card.
Prosecutors state that the individuals defrauded customers by offering a service that followed a traditional high-reward model through offline over-the-counter exchanges and fake investment groups. Once customers deposited funds, they were unable to withdraw them or found their accounts blocked.
A Taiwanese court has ordered the seizure of the defendant’s property, with some assets totaling at least 3.5 million NT$ ($110,000) confiscated.
Ace Exchange responded to the indictment by releasing a statement on April 8, emphasizing that Pan’s fraudulent activities were unrelated to the platform. The company stated that Pan had ceased involvement in day-to-day operations in 2022 and that the wallet product was developed by a third-party team entrusted by Pan, not by Ace Exchange. The exchange assured that it was cooperating with local authorities.
Ace Exchange is a lesser-known centralized crypto exchange based in Taiwan. According to CoinMarketCap, it was launched in late 2018 and has a daily trading volume of approximately $14 million.
Traders Union data classifies Ace Exchange as a “high-risk cryptocurrency exchange” with a trust score of 2.78 out of 10.
Cointelegraph reached out to Ace Exchange for comment on the indictment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
In other news, Google has filed a lawsuit against crypto app scammers, and Crypto.com faces legal action in Korea, according to Asia Express.