Huobi accuses ex-manager of insider trading

Hong Kong authorities have arrested an ex-employee of the Huobi crypto exchange, against whom the platform itself has filed charges of secret trading against the company and causing damage.

Huobi filed a lawsuit against its former senior manager, Chen Boliang, accusing him of illegally earning $5 million by using the resources of the exchange. In a statement, the company alleges that Chen, using his authority to approve a $20 million line of credit from the trading platform, opened a retail account in his father’s name.

Then the employee, using a corporate account controlled by him, conducted several trading operations and as a result made a profit of about $5 million in USDT stablecoins.

Huobi Global claims that the exchange terminated its employment relationship with Chen Bolian in May 2020. Shortly after the dismissal, the senior manager of the institutional clients department was arrested.

“We have no further comment on the allegations against Mr. Chen Bolian and we believe in the justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” the exchange said in a statement of claim.

The former employee, who was released on $25,000 bail, faces a total of six counts. First of all, in the illegal use of Huobi’s computer systems and fraud, which led the company to losses. The case against the ex-employee of the Huobi exchange is due to be heard next week. It is now being reviewed for sufficient evidence by the Hong Kong magistrate.

Some companies, on the contrary, protect their employees who are accused of insider trading. In 2021, NFT platform OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer stated that the former head of the department, who was accused by Twitter users of using his own cryptocurrency wallets to buy NFTs before the public announcement of the tokens, did not engage in insider trading.