Chinese national behind failed cryptocurrency exchange linked to Singapore money laundering suspects

According to a scoop by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Chinese national Su Weiyi, the alleged mastermind behind the collapsed Atom Asset Exchange (AAX), is linked to businessmen involved in major money laundering investigations across Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong police have arrested Su Weiyi, the alleged mastermind behind the defunct Atom Asset Exchange (AAX), a cryptocurrency platform that collapsed in 2022, leaving millions of investors in financial ruin.

Su Weiyi is accused of absconding with investors’ money but returned to Hong Kong where he was arrested on 18 July 2023, and charged with theft.

Though Su Weiyi’s case is still ongoing, he has not been publicly linked by authorities to the widespread online scams and money laundering activities currently plaguing Southeast Asia.

However, corporate documents reveal ties between Su Weiyi and individuals under investigation for their involvement in significant money laundering syndicates. These individuals include businessmen connected to organised crime and investment scams, raising suspicions about potential criminal activities surrounding AAX.

Su Weiyi co-owned companies with two men, Wang Shuiming and Wang Bingang, both implicated in a money laundering case being investigated by Singapore police.

Wang Shuiming has been convicted and sentenced to 14 months in prison, while Wang Bingang is wanted by police. Both men are connected to Su through a network of financial and technology firms, and all three hail from Fujian province, China.

Su Weiyi's shared business interests with these men have drawn attention to the possibility of illicit profits being funnelled through AAX, although there is no direct evidence proving that AAX itself was used for laundering criminal funds.

AAX, which once had over two million users, collapsed in 2022, leaving investors unable to access their assets.

While Su Weiyi faces charges for allegedly stealing at least US$2.15 million in digital currencies and tokens belonging to 51 AAX users, the bankruptcy proceedings, currently underway in the Cayman Islands, suggest a far greater financial disaster.

Su Weiyi is accused of absconding with digital wallet keys that contained a minimum of US$30 million in customer assets.

According to corporate documents, Su Weiyi was running AAX at the same time he co-owned businesses with men embroiled in money laundering investigations.

Among his associates is Wang Dingkai, another businessman with deep ties to Southeast Asia. Wang co-founded Sun Valley Clark Hub Corporation, a company in the Philippines that was raided by police in 2023 as part of an ongoing investigation into cryptocurrency investment scams and human trafficking.

The victims, many of whom were forced to operate call centres for scam operations, were tasked with luring foreign investors to deposit money into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.

Though Wang Dingkai has not been officially charged in the Philippines case, his connection to Su Weiyi raises further concerns. Hong Kong police had previously arrested another co-owner of the Hong Kong companies linked to Su Weiyi and Wang in connection with the AAX fraud, pointing to a complex network of individuals operating at the intersection of legitimate businesses and organised crime.

Experts have raised alarms over these overlapping business and personal relationships, warning of the growing integration of legal and illicit enterprises across Southeast Asia.

Benedikt Hoffmann, deputy representative for Southeast Asia at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), described Su Weiyi’s case as an example of the sophisticated criminal networks increasingly active in the region.

“The case is a great example of the complex networks and linkages which are more and more at the core of Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding organised crime environment,” Hoffmann said.

According to a report from UNODC, Southeast Asia has witnessed a surge in the use of cryptocurrencies to launder money, with organised crime groups turning to digital currencies as a way to conceal the origins of their profits.

Although there is no conclusive evidence that AAX was part of these activities, the ties between Su Weiyi and money laundering suspects have led some experts to suggest that the platform could have unintentionally played a role.

Anti-money laundering expert Eryn Schornick commented on the interconnected nature of the individuals involved in the case, noting that “It appears to be no coincidence that such a small circle of people could be so interconnected.” She added that these relationships could indicate a mixture of legitimate and illicit business interests, heightening suspicions about the underlying motives behind the operations.

The case has shed light on the intricate networks linking businesses across Hong Kong, the Philippines, and other parts of Southeast Asia, many of which straddle the line between legality and criminality.

As Su Weiyi’s trial unfolds in Hong Kong, authorities are under pressure to determine the full extent of his involvement, not just in the collapse of AAX, but in the broader organised crime activities to which he is indirectly connected.

Despite the gravity of the accusations, Su Weiyi’s legal team has not commented publicly, and it remains unclear who is representing him in court.

The Cayman Islands-based parent company of AAX, Atom Holdings, is undergoing liquidation, with its assets now controlled by Quantuma Advisory Limited.

Quantuma has not responded to requests for comment on whether AAX’s corporate structure or ownership links to Su Weiyi and his associates were part of their investigation.