In a significant development, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Cyber Crime Control Division apprehended an 18-year-old high school student on March 4, suspecting him of running an illicit Litecoin (LTC) exchange. Such a clampdown highlights the solemn matter of teenagers spending their time dealing with cryptocurrency activities.

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• Tokyo police apprehend an 18-year-old high school student for operating an illegal Litecoin exchange, exposing a concerning trend of youth involvement in cryptocurrency activities.
• The teenager was indicted on charges of breaching the Payment Services Act. This will clarify the problem of maintaining solid regulations against domestic crypto exchange operators.
• At least 30 customers were identified, with 20 being teenagers; authorities intensified efforts amid suspicions of widespread virtual currency trading without proper registration, emphasizing the broader risks associated with unregulated exchanges.

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Japanese High Schooler Arrested for Operating Illegal Litecoin Exchange

The unnamed teenager, a third-year high school student from Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, allegedly amassed approximately $20,000 in fees from trades on his unauthorized platform. The gerent is convinced that the young operator was meddling in buying and selling Litecoin among peers and older people.

The teenager is charged with violating the Payment Services Act, specifically for operating a virtual currency exchange business without proper registration, a stringent requirement imposed by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

According to police reports, at least 30 customers have been identified, with 20 of them being teenagers. The probe shows the culprit who mobilized crowds on social media through Twitter for several months between July and September 2023.

Transactions on the platform involved approximately $400 to two teenage high school students and $166 from a female office worker in her 40s, who confessed to utilizing the platform for online casino activities involving cryptoassets.

Japanese officials face challenges in fighting illicit transactions over the Internet and utilizing social media commercially. The question of transcendent IPA policy DRAP is also increasing, with accusations of irregular virtual cash trading without the necessary registration and involving young people.

This incident follows a previous case in 2022, where an 18-year-old in Gunma Prefecture attempted to defraud an individual almost three times his age in a crypto fraud scheme.

While Japan addresses these problems, it is scarce to mention that support and implementation of the 2017 Payment Services Act and 2020 amendment, which was exclusively concerned with the crypto exchange sector, is highly required. These regulations mandate platform operators to submit reports to the FSA, follow Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, and adhere to comprehensive Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) protocols.

The Tokyo police department, in its attempt to control adolescent involvement in crypto dealing, is raising alarm bells due to the adverse effects that may arise from the activities of unregistered exchanges.

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