The office of lender Nexo in Bulgaria was raided by local authorities on Thursday. The rden for this are a laundry list of suspicions, including those of money laundering, violating tax rules, computer fraud and unlicensed banking.
Raid at Nexo
The raid was part of an operation involving 300 members of government agencies, Siika Mileva told us. She is the spokesperson for Bulgaria’s public prosecutor’s office.
Mileva did not confirm whether any arrests were made during the raid.
Bulgarian authorities claimed that the crypto bank operated through numerous registered commercial entities. Most of these appeared to be post boxes or shell companies. It added that one of Nexo’s customers was alleged to have financed terrorist activities.
Nexo has since responded to the allegations:
“Unfortunately, with the recent regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies, some regulators have recently adopted the ‘kick first, ask questions later’ approach.” In corrupt countries, it borders on extortion, but that too will pass.”
“We always work with the relevant authorities and regulators.”
After the beginning of the horrible war in Ukraine, the first order of business was to help fundraise for those affected https://t.co/VIceWt9y6j
The second was, of course, to comply with the sanctions, and Nexo took one of the most aggressive approaches here. 5/— Nexo (@Nexo) January 12, 2023
It is important to note that the investigation is still ongoing and that this is initial reporting, which will undoubtedly evolve over time.
The raid comes a month after the crypto money lender withdrew from the US market. The reason, ironically, was precisely the lack of regulatory clarity.
Nexo is also still in the race to take over Vauld, but conflicts of interest and communication problems are turning this case upside down.