Founder Of ACE Crypto Exchange Arrested For Alleged Fraud

According to a local media, Police has arrested ACE Exchange founder David Pan and 13 other suspects for alleged fraud and seized assets worth at least $6.4 million in illegal gains.

The founder of ACE Exchange, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Taiwan, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of orchestrating fraud, local media Liberty Times reported. 

The police seized assets worth at least NT$200 million ($6.4 million) in illegal gains.

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David Pan, the founder of ACE, was reportedly arrested along with 13 other suspects for alleged fraud. 

Pan and a co-conspirator surnamed Lin are accused of collaborating for three years, using false advertisements on social media to lure investors into putting money into worthless cryptocurrencies, including MOCT, according to the report.

The police on Wednesday raided multiple locations in Taiwan, including the office of ACE Exchange, and seized NT$111.52 million ($3.6 million) cash from Lin’s residence, the report said. 

The police also seized cryptocurrencies worth over NT$100 million, bringing the total seized assets to over NT$200 million, according to the report. 

An ACE Exchange spokesperson told The Block that the arrested suspects are not ACE employees. 

The spokesperson added that although Pan founded the company, he stopped participating in daily operations in 2022. ACE Exchange is currently cooperating with the police investigation as a witness, the spokesperson noted.

Following the news of the alleged fraud involving its founder, ACE Exchange — which listed MOCT in 2019 — plans to delist the MOCT-TWD trading pair on Jan. 8. 

The spokesperson said that many token holders had previously redeemed their tokens for various coupons for meals or hotel accommodations.

Established in 2018, ACE is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Taiwan, alongside BitoGroup and MaiCoin. 

In a statement released on Thursday addressing the news, ACE explained that the exchange regularly conducts market reviews to assess listed tokens, and those that fail to meet the criteria would be delisted.