In a recent report, the former director of the now-defunct crypto firm Blockchain Global has been banned from leaving Australia. At a local court in Australia, the Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)filed charges against the former executive of Blockchain Global, Liang “Allan” Guo.
In their filing, the commission argued that Mr Guo would pose a flight risk if allowed to leave Australia. After carefully considering the matter, the court restricted Guo from leaving the country.
Former Director of Blockchain Global Banned From Leaving Australia
He was directed to hand over all his travel documents, including the passport, to the court. During the February 20 court hearing, the Chinese national did not appear for the arraignment.
In the court document, Guo was charged with two other directors for violating the existing law at the collapse of Blockchain Global . The report indicated that Guo, Sam Lee, and Ryan Xu were convicted for violating the Corporation Act.
Also, Lee and his closest ally Xu were involved in a dubious crypto investment dubbed HyperVerse. The two officials defrauded investors by nearly $1.8 billion in this investment. After a thorough investigation, the regulators noted that Guo was not involved in the HyperVerse scandal.
According to the report, Lee, who resides in Dubai, has been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for orchestrating a pyramid scheme. Lee and Xu’s suspicious activities exposed the HyperVerse investors to significant losses.
According to the report, the Hyperverse saga was not regulated by the Australian government. In a subsequent report, the US Department of Justice argued that the Hyperverse case involved three directors who lure the customers into their fraudlent schemes.
The US regulators noted that the Hyperverse fraudulent scheme has been operating for nearly two years. The Department of Justice argued that the team behind the Hyperverse team deceived the customers that their investments would generate 1% returns on a daily basis.
ASIC Set to Probe Blockchain Global Saga
On Wednesday, Judge Justice Button of the Federal court in Australia restricted Guo from leaving the country until August 20. Citing the criminal charges filed by the ASIC, Judge Button argued that the allegations were very serious.
He noted that Guo was accused of transferring customer funds to his account to cater for personal use. The ASIC team noted that when Guo was leading the Blockchain Global, he transferred $2.6 million from the company bank account to meet his personal needs.
After tracing how the multimillion-dollar was used, the ASIC noted that Guo used investors’ funds to meet some financial obligations, including home loans and other personal needs.
Following the crashing down of Blockchain Global, the ASIC noted that Guo retained company property worth 23.11 worth of Bitcoin valued at $1.8 million. The ASIC stated that shortly after the close of Blockchain Global, the Guo transferred the funds to his account.
Investors Suffer Losses Following Collapse of Blockchain Global
Notably the fallout of Blockchain Global exposed customers to losses. Apart from this, the official working for a bankrupt crypto firm fled Australia after Blockchain Global closed shop in the region.
Out of the many officials working for Blockchain Global, Guo was the only top executive left in Australia. The regulators noted Guo was the only person in the region with a better know-how of what went wrong for Blockchain Global.
Upon contacting the ASIC to inquire about why Guo is restricted from traveling, the regulators extensively reveal plans to investigate Blockchain Global Saga. In the proposed investigation, the ASIC will interview Guo on his involvement in the Blockchain Global saga.
The ASIC will collaborate with the Commonwealth Director of Prosecution to obtain adequate evidence on Guo case.The ASIC claimed that based on the damages caused by the crashing down of Blockchain Global, the proposed investigations might take 12 months.
During the court proceeding, Judge Button noted that the ASIC had delayed investigating Guo’s case. The judge argued that investigations were supposed to commence immediately after the closure of Blockchain Global.
Addressing the court, the ASIC confessed that it was hinted that Guo intended to leave the country. The regulators argued that if Guo left Australia, he might interfere with the ongoing investigations.
