A Chinese Filecoin mining company and its four top executives, who were accused of participating in an alleged pyramid scheme worth $83.3 million, were tried by the court, media reports said.
In a social media update posted on Monday, the local court in Pingnan county within the Guangxi autonomous region revealed that the trial had commenced for Shenzhen Shikongyun Technology and its four executives, including the company’s founder with the surname Lai.
These individuals are suspected of orchestrating and leading activities related to a pyramid scheme. The legal proceedings for this case are currently underway.
According to prosecutors, the defendants are alleged to have attracted individuals by pretending to engage in FIL coin mining on the company’s platform. They required people to pay fees for purchasing mining equipment or leasing mining machines in order to qualify for participation.
This was all done under the guise of promising substantial returns. As stated in the social media post,
“They enticed individuals to participate further and deceived them into acquiring assets, disrupting the economic and social order,” according to the prosecutors.
The company had reportedly established platforms known as filpool.io and bpool.io, and had even created a website using the domain name ipfs.cn to inappropriately promote their services.
As of May 2022, when the Chinese authorities intervened and exposed the company’s activities, it had amassed a user base of tens of thousands on its platforms.
During its operations on filpool.io and bpool.io, it had managed to accumulate a sum exceeding 606.95 million yuan (equivalent to $83.3 million), according to the social media post.
