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Ex-users say crypto trader Quadriga CX founder may have faked death - Business Insider

  • Users of Quadriga CX, a popular Canadian cryptocurrency exchange platform, have asked the police to exhume the body of its founder, Gerald Cotten, to determine whether he’s really dead.
  • In January, the company announced on Facebook that Cotten had died suddenly the previous month from „complications with Crohn’s disease“ while traveling in India. He was 30.
  • Cotten was the only person with access to digital wallets containing at least 180 million Canadian dollars ($137 million) in cryptocurrency, according to the BBC.
  • Following his death, the company was forced to close and applied for creditor protection with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
  • Questions surrounding Cotten’s mysterious death and rumors of mismanagement within the company began to swirl.
  • Lawyers representing users of the platform wrote a letter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Friday requesting an autopsy to confirm Cotten’s identity and cause of death „given the questionable circumstances“ surrounding his death.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Users of Quadriga CX, a popular Canadian cryptocurrency exchange platform, have asked the police to exhume the body of its founder, Gerald Cotten, to determine whether he’s really dead.

Lawyers representing users of the platform wrote a letter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Friday requesting an autopsy to confirm Cotten’s identity and cause of death „given the questionable circumstances“ surrounding his death.

In January, the company announced on Facebook that Cotten had died suddenly the previous month from „complications with Crohn’s disease“ while traveling in India. He was 30.

Cotten was the only person with access to digital wallets containing at least 180 million Canadian dollars ($137 million) in cryptocurrency, according to the BBC.

Following Cotten’s death, Quadriga CX was forced to close and applied for creditor protection with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The company said it had „worked extensively to address our liquidity issues, which include attempting to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets.“

Quadriga CX had roughly 115,000 users at the time, according to the BBC. It was believed to be one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada before its collapse.

Quadriga CX said in February that the court had appointed an independent third-party monitor, EY, to oversee its creditor-protection proceedings. In April, Quadriga announced that it had entered bankruptcy proceedings.

But questions surrounding Cotten’s mysterious death and rumors of mismanagement within the company began to swirl.

In June, EY said in a report that the company’s „operating infrastructure appears to have been significantly flawed from a financial reporting and operational control perspective.“

„Activities were largely directed by a single individual, Mr. Cotten, and as a result, typical segregation of duties and basic internal controls did not appear to exist,“ the monitor said.

The report added that user funds held by the company „appear to have been used by Quadriga for a number of purposes other than to fund User withdrawals.“

FILE PHOTO: A collection of Bitcoin (virtual currency) tokens are displayed in this picture illustration taken December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo/File Photo

Foto: Bitcoin tokens.sourceReuters

The monitor said that Quadriga CX also „failed to ensure adequate safeguard procedures were in place“ to let other executives access passwords and „other critical operating data“ in the case of a „critical event.“

Cotten also appeared to have taken out „substantial funds“ from the platform that EY was unable to locate justification for, it said.

Lawyers for Cotten’s widow told the BBC that she was “ heartbroken to learn of this request“ by users of the site and that her husband’s death „should not be in doubt.“

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December 16, 2019 at 09:09PM
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Ex-users say crypto trader Quadriga CX founder may have faked death - Business Insider
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