SINGAPORE - At least 70 police reports were lodged against online cryptocurrency trading platform Torque, run by Singaporean businessman Bernard Ong, with investors claiming millions lost in cryptocurrencies. Three days before the Chinese New Year holidays last month, retail investors were told that one of Torque's employees had apparently violated the company's rules and that his unauthorised trading activities had led to significant losses in their trading accounts. In a letter to investors, Torque Group Holdings, which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and owns the cryptocurrency trading platform, told investors that their accounts had been suspended to prevent further losses. Once the investigations were concluded, investors would be able to withdraw their remaining balances and have the option to close their accounts or resume trading on the platform, said Torque's chief executive Bernard Ong. But Mr Ong subsequently applied to the BVI Courts to wind up the company. The application was granted last week and Mr Philip Smith and Mr Jason Kardachi from restructuring and insolvency specialist firm Borrelli Walsh were appointed as joint liquidators. A preliminary review of Torque's record and investor database by Borrelli Walsh estimated creditor claims at US$325 million (S$436 million) as at March 2, while crypto assets under the control of the liquidators are valued at about US$9.1 million (S$12 million) as of March 14. PUBLISHED 10 HOURS AGO3/24/2021 At least 70 police reports filed against Singaporean-run crypto trading platform Torque, Companies & Markets News & Top Stories - … https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/at-least-70-police-reports-filed-against-singaporean-run-crypto-trading 3/7 Mr Smith told The Straits Times that investigations were still at an early stage and he is unable to confirm yet how many of Torque's more than 14,000 investors from more than 120 countries, reside in Singapore. Mr Ong, 33, chief executive of Torque, told ST that he has filed a police report in Singapore against the employee who, he alleges, is responsible for the losses. He said that the employee is not based in Singapore and has not been contactable. Police confirmed reports were lodged by both Mr Ong and investors and said that they are looking into the matter. Mr Ong said that Torque, which was incorporated in 2019, has about 80 employees based in Vietnam and Singapore, of which 20 are Singaporeans. "The cost is too high to run a 24-hour operation in Singapore. And the reason why I registered my company in BVI is because it does not have a regulatory framework towards cryptocurrency. I wanted a place that is more friendly towards crypto space," said Mr Ong. A search on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76tiAHA_D6I

... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6zY7UrLZrE