On the 6th, YouTuber Joeman, with 2.59 million subscribers, and Lyla, another popular YouTuber with 940K subscribers, were arrested by the police for using marijuana.
This news shocked Taiwanese society. In response, a prominent Taiwanese lawyer specialising in marijuana cases, Zeo Lee (李菁琪律師), also posted on Facebook, speculating that this incident involving internet influencers and marijuana might be linked to the cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance.
Update on Joeman and Lyla
After Joeman released a statement through his law firm on the 6th, he also posted an apology video on YouTube yesterday (the 7th). In the video, he admits to having used marijuana in the past but emphasises that it has been a long time since he last did so.
Alongside sincere apologies to his fans and audience, he promises to continue creating content because he is deeply passionate about it.
On the 6th, in a lawyer's statement, Lyla immediately denied drug use. On the evening of the 7th, Lyla and her husband, Tang Yu (湯宇) uploaded an apology video on YouTube.
Lyla cried in front of the camera and admitted to using marijuana in both Taiwan and Thailand. She confessed that the reason for her lie was concern that her words would hurt her children.
However, in order to provide her children with the right education, she decided to admit her mistake, acknowledging,
"I did something that mothers all over the world shouldn't do."
Purchasing Marijuana Through Binance?
Yesterday's article mentioned that this case might involve cryptocurrency! Joeman and Lyla may have used crypto to purchase marijuana online.
In response to this speculation, there were new developments online yesterday. Lawyer Zeo Lee (李菁琪律師) posted on Facebook yesterday (the 7th), suggesting a "guess before seeing" perspective, implying that this incident may be related to cryptocurrency transactions.
She pointed out that Joeman and Lyla may have used the globally renowned cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance to purchase marijuana, ultimately leading to their discovery by the police.
Since this case involves legal matters, most exchanges will comply with legal requirements and provide transaction records and related information.
This enables law enforcement to trace buyers of prohibited substances. It is believed that the Taiwanese authorities will also investigate Joeman and Lyla in this crypto-related aspect.
Awaiting Binance's Official Response
As of now, Binance has not provided an official response. However, it is understood that Binance has a dedicated department responsible for handling requests from law enforcement agencies worldwide.