ACE, a leading exchange, implicated in money laundering scandal: FSC takes action, imposes maximum fine of 10 million

In recent days, Taiwan's cryptocurrency exchange platform ACE Elite Exchange has encountered an unprecedented legal crisis. Although the platform has complied with the Anti-Money Laundering regulations of the Financial Supervisory Commission, it is still accused of being involved in money laundering and fraudulent activities. This incident has not only had a significant impact on ACE Elite Exchange but has also cast a shadow over the entire cryptocurrency industry. Shen Guangqi, the Chief Secretary of the Securities and Futures Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission, responded to this.

MOCT Magic Coin counterattacks ACE Exchange! Police confiscated cash exceeding "1 billion yuan" at Mr. Lin's residence.

Strict Supervision by FSC, ACE Exchange Faces Serious Challenges

On January 5th, the New Taipei City Criminal Investigation Bureau conducted a raid on ACE Exchange, uncovering suspicions of money laundering and fraud. Subsequently, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Inspection Bureau requested detailed explanations from ACE Exchange regarding its operational model and compliance with the law.

The FSC has warned that if any violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act is found, ACE Exchange could face fines of up to tens of millions of NT dollars, and even the revocation of its legal compliance statement, with the possibility of initiating a special financial inspection.

The Compliance Dilemma of Exchanges

The accusations against ACE Exchange mainly focus on the MOCT/TWD trading pairs it listed, which are suspected of involving fraudulent activities. According to FSC regulations, if violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act are confirmed, severe legal consequences will follow. This incident highlights the compliance challenges faced by cryptocurrency trading platforms, especially those operating without specific licenses. The "Guidelines for the Management of Virtual Asset Platforms and Trading Businesses" issued by the FSC in September last year aimed to strengthen regulatory compliance for such operators, but the case of ACE Exchange demonstrates that there are still many obstacles to overcome.

FSC's Threefold Response Strategy

Facing the crisis of ACE Exchange, the FSC has adopted three key strategies to respond. Firstly, the FSC has requested the company to provide a detailed explanation of the incident and make announcements to customers on its website to protect consumer rights. Secondly, the FSC will closely monitor the developments of the incident and take appropriate legal actions based on concrete evidence. Lastly, if there are indeed illegal facts, the FSC will handle them in accordance with the relevant Anti-Money Laundering regulations, with fines ranging from 500,000 to 10 million NT dollars if specific violations are proven.

The Chief Secretary of the FSC's Securities and Futures Bureau, Shang Guangqi, stated that the FSC will understand the situation based on the explanation provided by the operator and the evidence obtained by the FSC. She admitted that the current situation is not yet clear and requires time to clarify the relevant doubts before deciding on the follow-up direction.

ACE Exchange Clarifies: The Company Has Not Been Prosecuted and Has Submitted Explanations to the FSC

The head of ACE Exchange, Wang Chenheng, stated that ACE's involvement in the case was as a witness cooperating with the investigation, not because of being prosecuted for laundering virtual currency, and they have not been prosecuted. Furthermore, the unit requesting the explanation is the Securities and Futures Bureau, not the Inspection Bureau. ACE has submitted a complete explanation to the Securities and Futures Bureau.