Steaker Founder Issues Statement Denying Illegal Activities Following Lawsuit, Promises One-Time Repayment to Users in the Future

Steaker Founder Huang Wei-hsuan and Three Executives Indicted for Illegal Fundraising

The founder of the digital asset management platform Steaker, Huang Wei-hsuan, along with three senior executives, was indicted today by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly launching high-yield investment schemes to solicit public investment in virtual currencies, illegally operating deposit-taking activities, and raising approximately NT$1.48 billion. Steaker stated in a public announcement that it had not engaged in any illegal activities and denied any asset commingling intended to obscure the flow of funds, expressing regret over the prosecutor’s expanded interpretation of the Banking Act to include virtual currencies.

In November 2022, Steaker announced that due to the impact of the FTX bankruptcy incident, it would suspend redemption services for certain investment schemes. The following month, Huang Wei-hsuan was searched and questioned by investigators for allegedly providing guaranteed investment schemes online and illegally raising hundreds of millions of NT dollars.

In the evening, Huang explained on Facebook the sequence of events from his first questioning by investigators in December 2022 to the formal indictment today. He indicated that during this process, he and his lawyers had submitted over 35 documents and had requested a court hearing to explain in person, but had never received a notification for a hearing. Huang further stated that the team had cooperated with the investigation from the beginning and had continued to pursue a settlement while actively participating in the claims process against the FTX exchange and recovering other available funds to compensate users for their losses.

Huang emphasized that today’s indictment did not include charges of fraud, embezzlement, or breach of trust, which “confirms my long-stated position: I have never misappropriated user assets for personal use (in fact, I do not need to).” Regarding the violations of the Banking Act and money laundering, he reiterated that Steaker had never charged users in legal tender, and that the multi-chain currency flows designed and allocated in response to information asset security and management operational models should not be viewed as money laundering.

Huang Wei-hsuan clarified that he had not been absent for the past two and a half years but had been continuously working on subsequent operational tasks. His decision not to publicly explain was intended to prevent public emotional reactions from obscuring the issues at hand. Finally, he pledged not to evade responsibility and would continue to work hard to recover funds to repay users. Regarding repayments, he informed users that once funds were retrieved from FTX, they would be repaid in full at once.

Related report: 《Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office Indicts Steaker Founder Huang Wei-hsuan and Three Executives Today for Illegal Fundraising of NT$1.48 Billion》