Aiying reported that the "Greenstone Digital Asset Platform" (JPEX) was suspected of violating regulations in its promotion and operation in Hong Kong. In the first civil claim case, two victims filed a lawsuit in the District Court to recover 7 Tether or 24 million Hong Kong dollars from JPEX Group and other 185 defendants. One of the defendants, JPEX's registered company in Hong Kong, was absent from the hearing last month. Judge Zhou Zhaowen issued a verdict yesterday, stating that the company, as an operator, held assets and constituted an express trust but violated its duties. In particular, the case of the first plaintiff was obviously strong, so the company was ordered to pay compensation upon the application of the two. According to the statement of claim, the first defendant, who is a registered company of JPEX in Australia, and the second defendant operated the JPEX virtual asset service and electronic platform. The plaintiff opened an account in the platform in person or in his name and deposited virtual currency. The plaintiff asked the court to rule that the second defendant violated good faith and/or must reorganize and repay debts.
The judge said that in many common law jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the courts accept that cryptocurrencies are "property" and can form a trust. The judge agreed that the first two defendants operated a cryptocurrency trading platform that recorded the flow of currency between accounts, and there were trustee income and terms of agreement between the parties. Therefore, the second defendant, as a trustee, breached his duty and transferred assets without authorization. The judge believed that the court must grant relief for the claim to fulfill justice and ordered the second defendant to pay legal costs of 12 yuan.