Police arrested five people for conspiracy to defraud today after at least 43 clients of a Hong Kong-based bitcoin trading platform complained they had been cheated out of HK$64 million. The two men and three women, aged from 34 to 55, were picked up today, according to a police spokeswoman. At about 5.30pm, officers from the commercial crime bureau escorted one of the women back to her home in Lung Wo House at the Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate for a house search. The five suspects were being held for questioning and none of them had been charged. The commercial crime bureau began an investigation after police received complaints last month from 43 investors in bitcoin trading platform MyCoin. The complainants told police that they invested in bitcoin trading through the company since last year, according to police. “They claimed their accounts were not in operation since December last year,” a police spokeswoman said. “They were unable to make withdrawals from their accounts and could not continue trading since December last year. They suspected they had been cheated.” She said initial investigations showed that the amount involved reached HK$64 million. The investors claim MyCoin was a pyramid scheme packaged as trading in the digital currency. In the evening, the investigation was continuing.
