News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily reports: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued an announcement disclosing that it has received a large number of public inquiries concerning fraudulent activities involving a fake digital Hong Kong dollar project. The scam in question claims to be able to convert loans into digital Hong Kong dollar assets, luring the public into signing agreements.The HKMA solemnly clarifies that the fraudulent scheme and lending project are in no way related to the HKMA, and emphasizes that it will never contact members of the public regarding personal financial matters or carry out fund transfers. All institutions participating in the "e-HKD" Pilot Programme and other HKMA sandbox programmes will not raise funds from the public or offer wealth management and investment products under the name of the relevant programmes.The HKMA has reported the incident to the Hong Kong Police and reminds the public to verify relevant information through the HKMA's official website. If you have provided personal information to suspicious websites or applications, or suspect you have been defrauded, you should immediately contact the police or the Information Centre of the Criminal Headquarters of the Hong Kong Police Force.
According to Yonhap News Agency, data released by the National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency shows that during the concentrated crackdown campaign in the first half of this year (March to June), a total of 5,203 drug suspects were caught and 1,039 were detained, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.8% and 7.8% respectively. Among them, suspects involved in online drug transactions reached 2,178, accounting for 41.9% of the total number of suspects caught, an increase of 300 people compared to the same period last year; there were 848 foreign nationals involved in drug-related activities, an increase of 114 people year-on-year, with supply-related crimes accounting for up to 47.2%. During this period, the police also successfully extradited Philippine drug lord Park Wang-yeol and recovered criminal proceeds of 3.84 billion Korean won. In the second half of the year (August to December), the police will focus on strengthening crackdowns on drug sales channels on social platforms such as Telegram, and establish a 41-member special tracking team for virtual assets, while jointly strengthening efforts to crack down on drug crimes involving foreign personnel with international law enforcement agencies.
According to CoinPost, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Digital Society Promotion Headquarters’ “Next-Generation AI & On-Chain Finance Vision Project Team” released a policy proposal on May 19, advocating the integration of AI and blockchain to automate and enable 24/7 operation of decision-making, financing, and asset management—and designating finance as the “18th Growth Investment Sector.” Specific measures proposed in the document include: advancing tokenization of demand deposits at the Bank of Japan (including wholesale CBDC), with conceptual frameworks to be finalized by year-end; joint issuance of a stablecoin by Japan’s three major banks, targeting the launch of live operations by March next year; and promoting on-chain tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), such as accounts receivable and real estate. At the international cooperation level, the proposal calls for establishing an “AI & On-Chain Finance Asia Policy Dialogue Framework” and advancing cross-border settlements using yen-denominated stablecoins, thereby realizing the “Global SC Corridor Vision.”