Nexo seeks $3b from Bulgarian authorities over aborted investigation

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo is demanding $3 billion in damages from Bulgarian authorities.

According to Reuters, Nexo wants to recover $3 billion in connection with a stalled criminal investigation derailing its plans for a U.S. stock market listing and a soccer sponsorship deal.

Nexo representatives also claim that the investigation has damaged the company’s reputation and destroyed shareholder value. This is stated in a document submitted to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank.

Searches at Nexo offices took place in Jan. 2023. Prosecutors accused the platform of money laundering, tax crimes, and computer fraud between 2018 and Jan. 2023. The company’s management vehemently denied all accusations of money laundering and other crimes.

In Dec. 2023, the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office closed the criminal case against the cryptocurrency credit service Nexo – investigators could not find evidence of money laundering, tax evasion, and other crimes.

In mid-Jan. 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also fined the platform $45 million for unregistered services in the country. According to the regulator, Nexo began offering cryptocurrency deposit services to American investors in June 2020.

Representatives of the lender entered into an agreement with the SEC. Now the site is prohibited from providing licensed services in the United States.