Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission: The public should beware of seven entities including XTCQT and CEG suspected of engaging in virtual asset-related fraud

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has warned the public to beware of seven entities suspected of engaging in fraudulent activities claiming to be related to virtual assets (collectively, the Suspected Entities), which operate under the following names: XTCQT, CEG, BTEPRO, Bitones.org, Yomaex Crypto Market Limited (also known as Yomaex), Bstor (also known as Bstorest), Taurusemex. The SFC said that the Suspected Entities claimed to provide cryptocurrency trading services, and some of the Suspected Entities had used social media platforms or instant messaging software to direct investors to their respective websites to register as users to invest in cryptocurrencies. Investors reported problems withdrawing funds from the Suspected Entities. In some cases, the Suspected Entities claimed that investor accounts were involved in money laundering activities or illegal funds, thus suspending withdrawals. Investors were asked to pay high "fees" or "taxes" to process their withdrawal applications or reactivate suspended accounts. One of the Suspected Entities, Taurusemex, also falsely claimed that investor accounts were regulated by the SFC. The police have taken action to block the relevant websites at the request of the SFC. Although the police have taken action, the public should be aware that fraudsters may continue to establish websites with similar domain names. The suspected entities and their respective websites were included in the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s warning list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms on July 5, 2024.