Australian regulator takes former Blockchain Global director to court
Australia’s markets regulator has filed civil proceedings against Liang “Allan” Guo, the former director of Blockchain Global.
Guo will face the court on “allegations relating to multiple breaches of his directors’ duties,” the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a May 28 press release.
ASIC alleged Guo made multiple breaches of directors’ duties relating to his dealings with ACX Exchange customer funds, and claimed he made false and misleading statements about those dealings and failed to maintain proper books and records.
The now-liquidated Blockchain Global operated the ACX Exchange from mid-2016 until December 2019, when it collapsed as customers could no longer withdraw their assets.
During liquidator’s examinations in 2022, the courts were told that ACX exchange took the cash invested by its customers to buy crypto and mingled the funds into one pooled fund, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time.
The liquidators of Blockchain Global estimate that the company owed over 20 million Australian dollars ($12.8 million) in unsecured creditor claims to former customers of the ACX Exchange, ASIC said.
In November 2023, liquidators reported that Blockchain Global had 58.6 million Australian dollars ($37.7 million) owed to unsecured creditors. Of that total, 22.7 million Australian dollars ($14.6 million) were unsecured creditor claims received from former customers of the crypto exchange.
Guo not in country, ASIC says
ASIC said it began investigating Blockchain Global in January 2024 following the liquidators’ report.
Related: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking
Guo was banned from leaving the country as the regulator investigated whether he committed any criminal offences, including transferring money from the collapsed exchange to pay his mortgage.
Guo left Australia in September 2024 after travel restraint orders expired, and he hasn’t returned, it noted.
Meanwhile, ASIC is seeking the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling in favor of fintech firm Block Earner in a separate case.
The regulator claimed the crypto company’s fixed-yield earning service was not a financial product.
Magazine: Bitcoin bears eye $69K, CZ denies WLF ‘fixer’ rumors: Hodler’s Digest
Nigel Farage has successfully exploited the Commons recess to “grab the mic” and “dominate” the agenda, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said that the Reform UK leader has been able to “get his voice heard” while government was not in “full swing”.
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Mr Farage used a speech this week to set himself, rather than Kemi Badenoch’s Tories, up as the main opposition to Sir Keir Starmer at the next election.
The prime minister responded on Thursday with a speech attacking the Clacton MP.
Baroness Harman said: “It’s slightly different between opposition and government because in government, the ministers have to be there the whole time.
“They’ve got to be putting legislation through and they kind of hold the mic.
“They can dominate the news media with the announcements they’re making and with the bills they’re introducing, and it’s quite hard for the opposition to get a hearing whilst the government is in full swing.
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‘Big cuts’ to fund other Reform UK policies
“What we used to do when we were in opposition before 1997 is that as soon as there was a bank holiday and the House was not sitting, as soon as the half-term or the summer recess, we would be on an absolute war footing and dominate the airwaves because that was our opportunity.
“And I think that’s a bit of what Farage has done this week,” Harman added.
“Basically, Farage can dominate the media agenda.”
She went on: “He’s kind of stepped forward, and he’s using this moment of the House not sitting in order to actually get his voice heard.
“It’s sensible for the opposition to take the opportunity of when the House is not sitting to kind of grab the mic and that is what Nigel Farage has done.”
But Baroness Harman said it “doesn’t seem to be what Kemi Badenoch’s doing”.
She explained that the embattled leader “doesn’t seem to be grabbing the mic like Nigel Farage has” during recess, and added that “there’s greater opportunity for the opposition”.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has backed the guidance, saying it gives clarity to stakers, while her peer Caroline Crenshaw claims it ignores existing laws.
Two NYPD detectives allegedly linked to a crypto torture case in Manhattan have been placed on modified duties as the investigation unfolds, according to multiple reports.
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