ASIC has filed civil charges against former Blockchain Global director Liang Guo for allegedly misusing over $20 million of ACX customer funds. The regulator’s investigation began in January 2024 after years of warnings, including a 2017 IPO stop order and a liquidator’s report in October 2023 highlighting asset misappropriation. Sam Lee, the company’s co-director, was charged in the U. S. that same month for allegedly leading a $1. 89 billion Ponzi scheme linked to HyperFund and HyperVerse. A former director of the now-collapsed Australian crypto exchange ACX. io faces civil action over asserted serious breaches tied to the disappearance of millions in customer funds. On Wednesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced proceedings against Liang “Allan” Guo, accusing him of misusing customer funds, failing to maintain proper financial records, and making misleading statements during his tenure as director at Blockchain Global Ltd. Blockchain Global, now in liquidation, operated ACX, which froze withdrawals in late 2019, leaving former customers with claims exceeding $20 million. The lawsuit concludes a lengthy investigation into one of Australia’s earliest and most damaging crypto exchange failures. Liquidators estimate that ACX users are owed at least $22. 7 million of the company’s total unsecured creditor debt of $58. 6 million. Previously, ASIC halted Blockchain Global’s 2017 IPO attempt and denied it a financial services license over governance concerns. The formal investigation into ACX’s collapse began in January 2024, with the Federal Court imposing interim travel restrictions on Guo shortly after. These restrictions expired on August 20, and Guo left Australia on September 23, not returning since. Similar issues, different exchange An October 2023 report by liquidator Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners to ASIC and creditors revealed that customer funds were mixed with company money and redirected to related entities, a scenario reminiscent of the FTX exchange’s misuse of customer funds, where billions allegedly went to affiliated trading firm Alameda Research without consent. Guo told liquidators that wallet credentials for Blockchain Global’s crypto assets worth several million dollars were lost when his laptop was stolen in China in 2019.

However, as first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald in December 2021, no police report was filed to verify this claim. Other directors of Blockchain Global, Xue “Sam” Lee and Zijang “Ryan” Xu, are also under ASIC investigation. In the same month ASIC’s probe began, U. S. authorities charged Lee with operating a $1. 89 billion Ponzi scheme under the HyperTech umbrella, which included HyperFund and HyperVerse. U. S. prosecutors unveiled criminal wire and securities fraud charges against Lee for promoting fraudulent investment platforms promising crypto mining returns. The SEC simultaneously filed civil complaints against Lee and promoter Brenda “Bitcoin Beautee” Chunga, who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.