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Former Blockchain Global Director Faces Court Over Alleged Misuse of Funds

Blockchain

Business Honor
28 May, 2025

ASIC accuses ex-director of misusing investor money amid cryptocurrency exchange collapse.

Liang "Allan" Guo, the former director of Blockchain Global, is facing legal action from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the country's corporate watchdog. He is charged with violating his obligations while working at the since-imploded cryptocurrency firm.

Blockchain Global ran the ACX Exchange, which was marketed as being among the largest and most liquid of the cryptocurrency exchanges. Blockchain Global went bust in 2019 with over $20 million in customer funds that could not be withdrawn. In 2021, the Victorian Supreme Court froze $12 million traced to the company.

ASIC said Guo may have fled Australia following an eight-year probe into the collapse. Over his eight years with Blockchain Global, Guo is accused of funneling millions of investor dollars to repay his home loan and put funds into his bank accounts. He is also said to have invested company cash in the First Growth Fund, a listed investment company that invested specifically in blockchain technology and was delisted in 2019.

Guo's relations with fellow directors Samuel Xue Lee and Zijang "Ryan" Xu worsened after the meltdown. The directors quarreled over access to a hard drive with close to 176 bitcoins, worth approximately $10 million at the time. Lee has also been sued in the United States for allegedly swindling investors of close to $3 billion via another company named HyperFund. Lee and Xu are now operating from abroad.

In 2021, Blockchain Global's parent company's administrators were appointed, who subsequently reported potential breaches of the law by the directors in 2023. ASIC initiated its probe in early 2024 and is weighing referring the case for criminal prosecution.