Lawyers for Henry Chen of KuCoin have sent Whale Hunting a cease-and-desist letter over our reporting on his role in the Mauerberger network. We won’t be complying with this attempt to hide the truth.
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Lawyers for Henry Chen, a senior executive at crypto exchange KuCoin, have sent us a cease-and-desist letter demanding we remove all mention of their client from our coverage within 24 hours and publish an apology within three days.
As our readers know well, we decline requests to take down our articles at Whale Hunting, though we always enjoy when people ask so nicely through law firms.
If Mr. Chen has information he'd like to share, we're happy to interview him at any time. It goes without saying that he hasn't replied to our requests until now.
Our deeply sourced coverage of Chen's role in KuCoin's illegal takeover of Finansia draws on multiple sources, including internal KuCoin papers, emails, money-transfer documents, WhatsApp chats, and multiple people with first-hand knowledge of the events.
We categorically reject these demands and stand firmly by our investigation. We will not be silenced by intimidation tactics.
Henry Chen, also known as Chuanyao Chen, was KuCoin's top executive in Thailand. Our investigation revealed his central role in a scheme where KuCoin secretly took control of Finansia X – a licensed Thai financial group – in partnership with Benjamin Mauerberger, a South African fugitive confirmed by Thai police as a central node in a Cambodian money laundering network.
This wasn't a normal business deal. Documents show KuCoin used shell companies in the Seychelles and Hong Kong to acquire a 44% stake in Finansia without regulatory approval. They paid way above market price – a classic sign of money laundering. They concealed their coordination with Mauerberger's network, which controls another 8% through his first wife.
Secretly taking control of a financial institution using multiple front companies and without informing regulators is a criminal offense in Thailand.
Our reporting shows that Chen was KuCoin's point person on this deal. He communicated with Mauerberger via WhatsApp about share prices and transfer methods. He held meetings at Mauerberger's offices. He promoted the takeover internally at KuCoin, describing opportunities to enter Thailand's "elite club" of finance. When more senior KuCoin executives refused to attach their names to the deal, Chen used his assistant's name on official paperwork with Thai regulators.
After our reporting, Chen resigned from both KuCoin Thailand and his Finansia directorship. Thai authorities are now investigating the illegal takeover, and police this week seized other assets illegally acquired by the Mauerberger network.
Financial crime networks thrive in darkness. Our job is to shine a light on them, no matter how uncomfortable that makes the subjects of our investigations.
Independent investigative journalism is expensive and challenging. Legal threats like this are designed to drain our resources and scare us into silence. They won't succeed, but we need your help to fight back.
In the interest of full transparency, we're publishing Henry Chen's cease-and-desist letter in its entirety below. Judge for yourself whether this looks like the response of someone confident in their innocence, or an attempt to suppress legitimate journalism.
We will continue investigating this network and following the money trail wherever it leads. We will not be dissuaded by legal threats.
To our readers: Thank you for supporting independent journalism. Your backing gives us the courage to take on powerful interests and expose the truth.
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