Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.
Google sues alleged Chinese crypto scammers, can it win?
Alphabet’s Google subsidiary has filed lawsuits in federal court in New York against two Chinese nationals residing in mainland China for allegedly using Google Play to advertise and distribute fraudulent crypto apps.
The fraudulent apps on Google Play, including TionRT exchange, were downloaded over 100,000 times by individuals who deposited funds into the apps and were shown returns and could initially withdraw small amounts but were later unable to access their balances.
Google says it is the first tech company to take action against scammers and hopes to set a legal precedent. The suit claims the defendants allegedly made “multiple misrepresentations to Google in order to upload their fraudulent apps to Google Play, including but not limited to misrepresentations about their identity, location, and the type and nature of the application being uploaded.”
An example of a fake crypto app listing (Apple Store)
It’s bringing charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, as well as making claims for breach of contract against the group that Google says published at least 87 crypto scam apps on Google Play.
It named Yunfeng Sun, aka Alphonse Sun, and Hongnam Cheung, aka Zhang Hongnim or Stanford Fischer, as the alleged culprits, saying they lured victims to download the apps via text messages campaigns on Google Voice, videos on YouTube and affiliate marketing schemes.
It remains to be seen if Google can obtain sanctions against the individuals involved, however. Currently, there is no reciprocal juridical enforcement agreement between the U.S. and China, meaning that even if the lawsuit prevails, Chinese authorities will not have any obligations to enforce it within its territory.
Popular crypto exchange Crypto.com, which has more than 80 million users globally, will expand…
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