Four more individuals were arrested by the Japanese Financial Service Agency (FSA) in connection with their investigation into the JPEX crypto exchange. This follows the arrest of 14 people in November of last year.
The FSA suspects that the exchange may have been used to cover up unlawful activities, such as money laundering.
The individuals arrested were identified as two Japanese nationals and two Chinese nationals. No further information about their identities was revealed by the authorities. However, it is reported that all four individuals were members of the JPEX staff.
The FSA has been investigating the JPEX exchange since it was shut down in October 2020. The exchange was suspected to be involved in financial crimes such as money laundering and fraud.
In January 2021, the FSA seized 5.5 million yen (US$51,000) worth of cryptocurrencies from the exchange. Following this seizure, the agency revealed that it had “concluded that JPEX had conducted virtual currency transactions of suspicious origin and had also illegally transferred customer deposits overseas.”
The FSA also believes that the exchange may have allowed customers to open accounts and trade without following the required processes, and without conducting proper customer identity verification.
The FSA has now detained a total of 18 people in connection with the investigation. It is expected that the agency will continue its investigation and that more arrests may be made in the future.
