One of the people arrested “manages the platform,” Lee Wai-chung, an acting chief inspector at the commercial crime bureau, said at a press conference Friday.

Local media reported that one of the people was Thor Chan Chun-hung, the founder and ex-chief executive officer of AAX, and the other man was Leung Ho-ming, the director and chief executive officer of Vico Capital Ltd. 

Police’s public relations department declined to confirm the identity of the arrested persons. Thor Chan didn’t immediately reply to a written request for comment sent on Saturday.

Cryptocurrency exchange AAX suspended withdrawals in November, citing a glitch in a system upgrade. Police’s investigation found that there were liquidity issues at the company, but the mastermind and the people arrested “used data maintenance as an excuse to prevent users from withdrawing fund,” Lee said.

The case involves HK$98 million of total reported loss, according to a press release from the police. Bank accounts of AAX and the people who’ve been arrested have been frozen.

Police said they received 337 complaints from victims globally between November 16 and Friday, including 190 Hongkongers. 

AAX Exchange has been running since November 2019 and accumulated over 2 million users as of November this year. 

The two men, aged 37 and 44, were arrested for fraud and misleading police, superintendent Fanny Kung Hing-fun said, as she added more arrests may be made.