Houbi Global, which is based in Seychelles, has been accused
by lawyer Jonathan Levy of operating without accountability to any
jurisdiction. The lawyer adds that the exchange’s physical address in
the island nation is for mailing purposes only.
Accountability Issues
U.S.-based lawyer Jonathan Levy has accused Huobi cryptocurrency
exchange of running a decentralized global operation that “operates
everywhere but is held accountable nowhere.” Levy’s accusation follows
the Seychelles registered cryptocurrency exchange’s alleged
intransigence which eventually led to a French national losing their
funds to a Chinese fraudster.
Before the Chinese national’s disappearance along with the stolen
funds, the unnamed victim had — with the aid of Ciphertrace —
successfully located the fraudster’s account with Huobi. Based on the
victim’s efforts, the French National police had opened an investigation
as well as requested the cryptocurrency exchange’s assistance in
recovering the funds.
Huobi’s Seychelles Presence
However, according to a statement released by the lawyer, the fraud
victim’s attempts to recover their funds were ultimately frustrated by
Houbi’s refusal to cooperate with both French and Seychelles law
enforcement. He explained:
Huobi Global misled the French Police and claimed they
were under the jurisdiction of Seychelles. This delay allowed the
criminal to escape with their loot. When the Seychelles Police finally
investigated it was already too late and by their own admission, they
lacked jurisdiction over the crime since Huobi’s presence in that island
nation is just a mailing address.
Levy, meanwhile, points to this latest incident as another example of
why authorities in Europe need to establish a crypto industry-funded
“Superfund.” He said such a fund would prove to be useful to victims of
crypto crime, like the the French national, whose only hope of
recovering the funds now hinges on the European Union or the OECD’s intervention.
Concerning leading crypto exchanges’ ability to make sufficient
contributions to any such superfund, Levy argues that platforms like
Huobi (whose daily crypto volume reportedly exceeds $10 billion) and the
other top ten exchanges, are well placed to make such contributions.
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/lawyer-accuses-huobi-of-operating-a-cryptocurrency-exchange-thats-held-accountable-nowhere/
