Bulgarian prosecutors said Thursday they had searched about 15 sites in the capital as part of an investigation into suspected fraudulent activities carried out by the international cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo.
“We have taken active steps in the framework of investigations aimed at neutralising the illegal activities of Nexo,” spokeswoman for the prosecutors’ office, Siyka Mileva, told a press conference.
The crypto lender is accused of “organised crime, money laundering, tax evasion, banking activity without a licence and computer fraud”, according to prosecutors.
A person “officially designated as financing terrorist acts” was among one of the platform’s clients, Mileva said.
Prosecutors said $94 billion had passed through the platform in the past five years.
Founded in 2017, Nexo is run by three Bulgarians, Kalin Metodiev, Antoni Trenchev and Kosta Kanchev.
Through “letterbox” companies, the platform has operated worldwide from the country’s capital Sofia.
Platforms like Nexo, which allow users to buy and sell crypto assets while additionally offering complex derivative products, are at the heart of the relatively young cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The spectacular bankruptcy of sector giant FTX in November 2022, and tumbling crypto asset prices have led to increased calls to regulate the sector.
Before Nexo, Bulgarian “cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova had made headlines for being placed on the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives list last year.
In 2014, Ignatova launched OneCoin which allowed her to collect more than four billion dollars through embezzlement.
