Allegations of fraud by cryptocurrency asset management platform Steaker’s founder and CEO Wilson Huang (黃偉軒) likely arose from the company conducting specialized financial services without a business license, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Friday.
Steaker Inc did not fulfill the requirements for its business operations, did not comply with regulations under the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) and has likely contravened money laundering laws, the commission’s officials said.
The company had operated cryptocurrency exchange and investment schemes, on which it might have engaged in fraudulent or money laundering activities, as it engaged with the specialized financial services sector without a business license, it said.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office searched the company’s offices and summoned its executives for questioning on Thursday.
Huang was denied bail and placed under judicial detention.
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau cooperated with Taipei prosecutors to raid seven locations, collecting evidence and serving summonses.
Huang’s younger brother, Steaker deputy manager Huang Hao-hsuan (黃浩軒), the company’s chief technical officer Jesse Hsiu (修敏傑), chief operating officer Emma Pan (潘沂莛) and its marketing manager Tesia Lu (盧天心) were summoned and later released on bail ranging from NT$250,000 to NT$500,000 each.
Judicial authorities said the investigation focused on suspected defrauding of investors out of billions of New Taiwan dollars, while prosecutors alleged the executives had contravened the Banking Act (銀行法).
Wilson Huang, 31, has refused to provide the passwords needed to unlock the key “crypto wallets” and the blockchain account ledgers, making it more difficult for investigators to check the crypto transactions, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors quoted Wilson Huang as having denied the fraud charges, saying that Steaker suffered losses due to the collapse of FTX Trading Ltd last month.
Wilson Huang last month said that Steaker had a risk exposure of US$10.66 million, as it had invested in FTX and used its crypto exchange platform, and had filed lawsuits against FTX to recover the losses to Steaker’s clients.
“Our company came under investigation and searches by prosecutors, and our founder and CEO Wilson Huang was questioned. As the case is under judicial investigation, we are unable to provide an opinion on the events,” Steaker said in a statement on Thursday.
“Our company will fully cooperate with the investigation to clarify the issues involved, and we are working to restore normal operations as soon as time permits,” it said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS