Ex-manager of crypto firm Huobi acquitted of moving millions into account
Chen Boliang accessed crypto platform now known as HTX to trade in dark pool under individual account, which is prohibited under regulations
A Hong Kong court has acquitted a former senior manager at a major Chinese cryptocurrency exchange of secretly moving about US$5 million in Tether stablecoins, worth around HK$39 million, to his own accounts six years ago.
A seven-member High Court jury on Friday found Chen Boliang, who used to work at cryptocurrency firm Huobi – now known as HTX – not guilty of accessing its platform to trade in so-called dark pools under an individual account he created with an alias between February 27 and March 14, 2020.
Dark pools allow institutional investors to trade privately without publicly disclosing the transactions, the buy and sell prices and the number of shares traded.
Prosecutors alleged that Chen set up a Huobi account under the name “Chen Feng” in January 2020.
One month later, Chen allegedly began using that individual account, which was registered with a mainland identification card, and three other company accounts over which he had control on Huobi to trade in dark pools.
After a day of deliberation, the jury returned a majority verdict finding insufficient evidence to prove the defendant was the controller of the Chen Feng account, as evidence showed his accounts on other crypto exchanges – Binance and OKX – had received a large number of cryptocurrency transfers from the Huobi accounts over the period in question.