The defendants, including social media influencers, face charges related to fraud and money laundering. Six are accused of being core members of the platform, while the others are alleged to have facilitated the scheme through over-the-counter exchanges or by providing bank accounts for the funds to be laundered.
Hui emphasised on Saturday that investor protection and education are paramount.
He urged the public to remain vigilant, fully understand the products they are buying and be wary of offers that seem “too good to be true”.
“We have been adopting a very consistent approach in terms of how we regulate the digital asset sector, which is based on the principle of similar business, similar risk and similar regulation,” Hui said after appearing on an RTHK programme.
“Throughout the various legislations that we have enacted, including the regulation of the digital asset exchanges, the stable coins and also the coming regulation of custodians, and also digital asset trading, the same principle will apply.”
Shifting the focus to the industry’s positive developments, Hui highlighted the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong FinTech Week.
He noted that the event broke records, attracting over 40,000 participants from 120 economies and more than 800 exhibitors.
He said the city’s fintech sector has seen substantial growth, with the number of start-ups soaring from around 1,000 a decade ago to nearly 5,000 today.
Fintech-specific companies now number approximately 1,200, a 10 percent increase from last year.
