Hong Kong regulator warns Fun Coffee scam as investor losses top HK$1 billion

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC, the city’s securities regulator) has warned that Fun Coffee appears to be a suspicious cryptocurrency-linked investment scheme, as reported investor losses climbed to more than HK$1 billion, or $127 million. The venture, linked to Vietnam, entered Hong Kong in late 2025 promoting annual returns of as much as 222% and asking users to download an app, complete “tasks,” and transfer funds using virtual assets. The business said it was headquartered on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island, had funds above US$1 billion, employed more than 5,000 people, and discussed ambitions to go public. It also staged a local running event in December 2025 and distributed leaflets, including some framed as anti-fraud awareness. By the end of July, users said withdrawals had been blocked and some could no longer access their accounts. One chat group counted more than 370 affected people, while several groups together had about 4,000. The warning followed earlier concern in Vietnam. Vietnamese state television reported in May 2026 that the Ministry of Public Security had seen signs of a Ponzi scheme (a fraud that pays early users with later users’ money). On 13 July, the SFC issued a public alert saying the “Fun Coffee GCM project” looked like a suspicious investment and warning that participants could lose their entire principal. The case has also drawn a police response. As of the end of July, Hong Kong Police had received 115 reports, which were referred to the deception investigation team of the Commercial Crime Bureau. Public filings showed three different Hong Kong companies using the Fun Coffee name, all incorporated between late 2025 and early 2026, while the listed Kowloon Bay headquarters and a Mong Kok store were vacant with landlord notices posted over unpaid rent from the start of the month. The episode echoes a pattern seen in other Hong Kong crypto-related fraud probes, where regulator warnings were followed by frozen withdrawals and investor complaints. The report compares the case with JPEX, which Hong Kong authorities have called the city’s largest financial fraud case in recent years, involving more than 2,700 investors and over HK$1.6 billion, or $204 million, in losses.