ASIC Sues Former ACX Director Over $20M Misused Crypto Funds

HomeNews* ASIC has filed civil charges against former Blockchain Global director Liang Guo over the alleged misuse of over $20 million in customer funds from crypto exchange ACX.io.

• The probe into Guo follows multiple warning signs since 2017 and an October 2023 liquidator’s report detailing misappropriated assets.
• Sam Lee, a co-director, faces separate charges in the United States for operating a $1.89 billion alleged Ponzi scheme connected to HyperFund and HyperVerse.
• A liquidator found that customer funds were mixed with company funds and redirected into related businesses, with wallet credentials reportedly lost in 2019.
• The formal investigation started in January 2024, and travel restrictions were briefly placed on Guo, who left the country in September 2024. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken civil action against Liang “Allan” Guo, a former director of Blockchain Global, for allegedly misusing customer funds totaling more than $20 million from the now-defunct Australian cryptocurrency exchange ACX.io. The action comes after months of investigation into serious regulatory breaches involving millions in missing customer money.

• Advertisement - According to ASIC, Guo is accused of misusing user funds, not maintaining proper financial records, and providing misleading statements while serving as a director of Blockchain Global. The ACX exchange, which operated under this company, froze customer withdrawals at the end of 2019, leaving customers with unresolved claims of over $20 million. Liquidators now estimate that ACX users are owed at least $22.7 million of the firm’s overall $58.6 million in unsecured debts.

The regulator’s investigation began in January 2024. This followed earlier red flags, such as a 2017 stop order on Blockchain Global’s planned IPO and the denial of a financial services license over governance issues. In October 2023, a liquidator’s report highlighted that user funds had been mingled with company money and redirected to related entities. Guo told liquidators that wallet credentials for crypto holdings worth several million dollars were lost when his laptop was stolen in China in 2019. According to Bitcoin-millions-20211130-p59df6.html”>The Sydney Morning Herald, there was no police report to confirm the claim.

Meanwhile, ASIC placed interim travel restrictions on Guo, which expired in August 2024. He left Australia in late September and has yet to return. Other directors, including Xue “Sam” Lee and Zijang “Ryan” Xu, also remain under investigation by ASIC.

In the same month the ASIC probe began, U.S. authorities charged Lee with running a $1.89 billion Ponzi scheme through entities such as HyperFund and HyperVerse. The SEC also filed a civil complaint on the same day against Lee and Brenda “Bitcoin Beautee” Chunga. Chunga later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.

The collapse of ACX and the ongoing legal actions highlight regulatory and governance challenges in crypto exchanges, drawing comparisons to other high-profile cases such as FTX.

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