December 12, 2024

Bitfinex exchange calls itself a victim of fraud

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex published a statement in which it called itself a victim of fraud byPanamanian company Crypto Capital.

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As previously reported, the Polish police arrestedCrypto Capital’s president, Ivan Manuel Molina Lee, who is accused of participating in a drug cartel and money laundering through the Bitfinex Bitcoin exchange.

Lee is also the president of Crypto,registered in Michalowice (Poland). This company is almost entirely owned by a Panamanian company. Crypto served Bitfinex deposit accounts at Spółdzielczy Bank in Skierniewice, with a turnover of up to $ 1.5 billion per day. It is known that the processing services of Crypto Capital were also used by Binance, Kraken, BitMEX and the already defunct QuadrigaCX exchange.

The Bitfinex blog says that besides Molina, another defendant in the case is a certain Joseph Oz, another member of Crypto Capital, who is also involved in New York law enforcement.

“Crypto Capital handled somefunds on behalf of and on behalf of Bitfinex for several years. During this time, Bitfinex relied on various information from Molina and Joseph, which turned out to be false. "

In particular, they say in Bitfinex, Crypto CapitalI constantly tried to portray myself as an honest organization, strictly following legal norms and having significant experience in interacting with banks. This was done to convince the exchange of the processing ability to process its operations.

“Bitfinex is a victim of fraud andclarifies its position to relevant authorities, including Poland and the United States. We cannot speak for other clients of Crypto Capital, but any assumption that the processing launders the proceeds of the sale of drugs and any other illegal funds on behalf of Bitfinex or its clients is completely untrue. ”

Finally, the exchange said it would seek a refund to stakeholders.

Recall that in the United States continues judicialTrial of Bitfinex accused of hiding investors' borrowing from Tether. At the same time, the exchange does not leave attempts to gain access to $ 880 million frozen in Crypto Capital.