Recently, the Hong Kong police applied to Interpol to issue a wanted order for Wong Chung-kit, also known as "Coin Master", and his assistant Mok Chun-ting. The Interpol website also shows that Wong Chung-kit and Mok Chun-ting are on the red wanted list. The two have become global wanted targets for being involved in a number of serious financial crimes.
This "coin boy" once threw money and promoted Bitcoin mining machines on the streets of Hong Kong in a grand manner, but eventually became an international wanted criminal. This attracted global attention, and his glory and fall also reflected the ups and downs and risks of the cryptocurrency circle.
Throwing money on the streets of Hong Kong
The 30-year-old Coin Master, whose Chinese name is Huang Zhengjie (formerly known as Guan Zijie), once called himself "the first person in Hong Kong blockchain" and became famous overnight after the money-scattering case in Sham Shui Po in 2018. At that time, Coin Master was outside the Golden Computer Mall in Sham Shui Po and said to the citizens along the way: I don’t know if you believe that money can fall from the sky! After that, a large number of 100 Hong Kong dollars were scattered from a high altitude, which became a highly discussed social event at the time.
Some netizens joked, "Could this be some cryptocurrency tycoon who can throw money on the street?" Others speculated, "This must be some marketing or hype, how could he just throw so much money around?" Soon after, it was reported that the man who called himself "Coin Master" was named "Wong Ching-kit" and was a 31-year-old swimming coach. According to him, the reason he threw money on the street was because he made a lot of money by investing in cryptocurrency and mining machines, and now he wanted to "equalize" the money and give it back to society.
By throwing money at the crowd, Coin Master successfully attracted public attention, and he was good at using social media and street actions to show off his large amount of cash on social media. This highly dramatic marketing method made Wang Jingjie famous in a short period of time and became one of the richest and most influential cryptocurrency practitioners in Hong Kong and even in Asia.
Someone once traced the background of Master Bi and revealed that he had been convicted of theft. One of the financial backers behind him was suspected to be the "Prince of the Three Streets Prostitution" active in Mong Kok. There was also a person who was often called "Li Ka-shing because of big gambling" and the person in charge of football gambling who distributed money and gold everywhere. The forces behind him were complicated.
Cryptocurrency Investment
On the other hand, he was also accused of being a swindler in promoting cryptocurrency. In early 2018, Coin Master opened a Facebook page called "Coin Master - New Generation Mining" to share his experience in making money with cryptocurrency, claiming that he would teach people how to make money with cryptocurrency.
He often teaches people how to invest to attract clients, and shows off his wealth on the Internet, displaying luxury watches, supercars, and Sai Kung detached houses. He actively tries to prove that he made a fortune by speculating in cryptocurrencies, claiming that he made nearly 10 million yuan by investing 300,000 yuan. As he shares more and more content, he has successfully attracted a large number of followers.
Huang Zhengjie publicly promoted a mining machine with a five-digit price tag, claiming that it could mine the cryptocurrency Filecash coin (FCC) and guaranteeing that buyers could recover their costs within three months. However, in 2019, several buyers collectively reported to the police, accusing Huang Zhengjie of false advertising for his return promises and refusing to refund those who returned the machines. The amount involved in the case was at least HK$27.5 million.
The victims are widespread, including professionals in finance and accounting, who claim to have been deceived by CoinShaoYe to buy cryptocurrency mining machines. After an in-depth investigation by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the police, CoinShaoYe and his assistant Mok Chun-ting were arrested on charges of "conspiracy to defraud" and their assets of HK$5 million were frozen.
JPEX fraud case
Next is the largest financial fraud case in Hong Kong history - the JPEX fraud case. In September 2023, the cryptocurrency trading platform JEPX was exposed for suspected fraud because it did not apply for a license from the Securities and Futures Commission. The platform used various promotional methods to attract investors until users were unable to withdraw their assets, and the incident was exposed. The police said at the beginning of this year that the amount involved in the case in Hong Kong has exceeded HK$1.61 billion (about NT$6.3 billion), and the number of people who reported the fraud has exceeded 2,623.
After JPEX absconded with the funds, the police requested the relevant influencers who had participated in the promotion to come forward to cooperate with the investigation. Coin Master, who had strongly supported JPEX on YouTube, stated at the time that he would no longer mention the exchange warned by the SFC, but the police believed that his assistant Mo Junting was related to the Australian registered company JP-EX Crypto Asset Platform Pty Ltd and had a close relationship with Coin Master, and suspected that "Coin Master" was the key figure behind the JPEX fraud case.
However, during the investigation, Mr. Bi fled overseas, so the police recently applied to Interpol for a wanted warrant. A Red Notice is a request document issued by Interpol to request the arrest or temporary detention of a wanted person for the purpose of repatriation. It requires member states to assist in finding and arresting wanted individuals so that they can be extradited to the country that issued the wanted warrant to face legal sanctions.
The Hong Kong community reacted strongly to the news that Interpol had issued a red warrant for Mr. Coin. Some netizens mocked that this was the moment for Wong Chung Kit to "bring honor to his family" and "become famous" and break out of Hong Kong and step onto the world stage. Some even described him as enjoying the treatment of a thief king.
Other netizens were surprised and confused by this, wondering why the Hong Kong police still needed to seek international assistance when there was already a national security law. However, some netizens were concerned about the scope of effectiveness of the red notice and doubted whether it could really work. Some also questioned the efficiency of the police.
In general, the process from a swimming coach to a "cryptocurrency tycoon" and then to a global wanted person is full of drama. However, the rise and fall of this "cryptocurrency master" has undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the industry. Although cryptocurrencies are still developing rapidly, investors must be wary of the risks involved.
As Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs continue to be launched around the world, cryptocurrencies will become more likely to become an option for ordinary investors. Fraud cases similar to this one may become more rampant in the future. How to strengthen criminal supervision and investor education is also a challenge that the industry still needs to work hard to solve.
