Co-Founder of Exchange Run by Philippine President’s Brother Arrested

Japanese police have arrested the executive director and co-founder of Japan-Philippines Global Coin (J-PGC), an ambitious cross-border cryptocurrency project fronted by the younger brother of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

Tokyo police have charged Takanori Okuno, who established J-PGC in the Philippine city of Cebu with the president’s brother Emmanuel Duterte. The duo hopes to launch a cryptocurrency exchange platform this year.

Okuno has been accused of orchestrating an assault and robbery in the Minato ward of Tokyo, whereby two people were beaten and forced to surrender cash to two attackers. Okuno denies the charge. Police say the case took place in 2016.

Per Japanese media outlet Global News Asia, Okuno’s arrest may throw a spanner into the works at J-PGC, and could affect the prospective launch of the company’s ambitious cryptocurrency-related projects.

J-PGC earlier this year applied for an operating license with the country’s regulatory body, the Securities and Exchanges Commission. Okuno and Duterte had hoped to target Japanese residents and tourists in the Philippines with their platform.

Okuno also claimed, earlier this year, that the J-PGC project would “focus on helping low-income Filipinos trade on cryptocurrency exchanges.”