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Macau Regulator Warns Public of Gangster-Backed ICO Related to Cambridge Analytica

Last Updated May 16, 2023 9:07 AM
Habiba Tahir
Last Updated May 16, 2023 9:07 AM

Cambridge Analytica’s former employee, Brittany Kaiser, has revealed  that the British data analytics firm was also working with data mining company Macau Dragon Group. The latter is also known as Dragon Corporation and is backed by gangster Wan Kuok-koi “Broken Tooth”; he was previously the gang leader of the ex-14K triad. The news of their involvement came last week, and in turn, financial officials from Macau issued  cryptocurrency crime warnings.

Cambridge Analytica’s whistleblower detailed the company’s activities to obtain user information from Facebook for the U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. After Kuok-koi’s presence was noted in the crypto community, people became worried and many claimed that regulations would help avoid such acts in the future. Cambridge Analytica helped Dragon Corporation in advertising its $500 million ICO scheduled for next month. Both companies were also planning to work on a system that would allow users to sell their personal data to advertisers.

After news websites reported the story, the Monetary Authority of Macau released a statement that covered the latest events along with a warning.

The media has reported that a Macau company was involved in an ICO [initial coin offering] recently. Monetary Authority of Macau reminds all Macau residents that cryptocurrencies are virtual products, but not legal currencies or financial tools. Residents should be aware of fraud and criminal activities associated with cryptocurrencies.

The authority also reminded residents that virtual currencies didn’t fall under the Financial System Act (FSA) of 1993.

Monetary Authority of Macau reiterates that any institution providing regulated financial services such as currency exchange, cross-border fund transfer and financial exchange platforms without permission violates relevant provisions of the Financial System Act.

Thus, crypto companies in Macau won’t receive any help from financial institutions in the future. However, some people have pointed out that no rules have been passed against casinos developing ICOs.

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