HTX skips Dutch court, ordered to reveal user’s identity
Crypto exchange HTX has skipped a Dutch court hearing after being accused of ignoring a scam victim and has been ordered to reveal the scammer’s identity — or face a hefty fine.
According to the Netherlands’ financial crime unit, a scammer stole €1.2 million ($1.3 million) from a local using an HTX wallet that has been connected to several other crypto investment scams.
HTX allegedly ignored the Dutch victim’s reports, leading them to contact authorities and seek legal action. The scammer’s full name, address, zip code, and place of residence must be handed over, an Amsterdam court ruled in a hearing earlier this month. HTX didn’t attend.
HTX was fined €500,000 ($550,000) and can be ordered to pay €100,000 ($110,000) more each day it doesn’t comply, up to €2 million ($2.2 million).
Read more: Justin Sun in no hurry to tell China about HTX hack
HTX is owned by Tron founder Justin Sun, the subject of a major Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit. Along with selling unregistered securities, he’s accused of wash trading his tokens to make them seem more legitimate and desirable.
After the SEC’s victory against Binance and its ex-chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) last week, a curious string of attacks were carried out on HTX and another exchange recently purchased by Sun, Poloniex.
The timing of these hacks, mixed with Justin Sun’s odd behavior on social media, has fueled speculation that the crypto founder is preparing for a final exit.
Since Binance pled guilty, Justin Sun has also been posting out-of-touch, AI-modified, and pre-recorded videos of himself. Funky withdrawals from other Sun-championed services have also raised flags:
- Unknown hackers were able to make off with $114 million from Poloniex on November 10.
- The day before, Binance moved 3.9 billion USDT on Tron from its cold to hot wallets.
- On November 22, the operator of the HECO bridge — loudly championed by Sun — withdrew over $86 million.
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