A trustee’s audit of bankrupt Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX has discovered that its late founder siphoned millions of dollars from clients, and spent it on himself and his wife.
Court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young said in a report that late QuadrigaCX president Gerald Cotten had transferred the funds from customers’ accounts to other cryptocurrency exchanges and then used the money to buy luxury goods, real estate and travel — and to cover his trading losses.
According to the report, “significant volumes of cryptocurrency were transferred off platform outside Quadriga to competitor exchanges into personal accounts controlled by Mr Cotten.”
“It appears that user cryptocurrency was traded on these exchanges and in some circumstances used as security for a margin trading account established by Mr Cotten,” it said. “In addition, substantial amounts of cryptocurrency were transferred to wallet holders whose identity the monitor has been unable to confirm.”
Cotten’s wife, Jennifer Robertson, had previously said in an affidavit that the company had been unable to access encrypted computers that her late husband was believed to have used to store the cryptocurrencies.
The files, for which Cotten alone had the passwords, were referred to as cold wallets.
Ernst & Young said that it had identified 76,000 QuadrigaCX users that are owed a total of C$215 million (US$163 million), but the firm has been able to recover only C$33 million to date.
Skeptics had suggested Cohen faked his death. The report does not delve into that question, but notes that Cohen had not maintained any proper accounting records over the past three years and transferred large amounts of money without any oversight.
At the same time, he and his wife “acquired significant assets including real [estate] and personal property” and “frequently traveled to multiple vacation destinations often making use of private jet services.”
QuadrigaCX had announced in mid-January that Cotten died of complications from Crohn’s disease on Dec. 9 last year while volunteering at an orphanage in India. He was 30.
A court in February granted his wife’s bankruptcy application on behalf of the company.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS