Bulgaria closes investigation into Nexo

The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office closed the case against the crypto-lending platform Nexo due to lack of evidence. This is stated on the agency’s website.

In January, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the company’s local office. The probe was prompted by allegations of money laundering, tax violations, fraud and providing banking services without a license. Against this backdrop, Nexo recorded a substantial outflow of client funds.

In the same month, the company announced plans to sue the government of the country and seek compensation.

However, during the investigation the prosecutor’s office found no evidence of crimes.

[…] There is no evidence of criminal activity in various forms of complicity aimed at carrying out banking activities without the proper license. Nor was any evidence of money laundering found. Nor was there evidence of tax crimes or computer fraud collected against the defendants, the site says.

In a comment to The Block, co-founder of the lending platform Antoni Trenchev said that dropping all charges against the company and its executives shows that “the attack on Nexo was political in nature.”

“This also matters greatly for clearing our names and is a vindication for all good players in crypto,” he added.

In early 2023, Nexo agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to US regulators as part of settling charges over the unregistered sale of securities. The agencies deemed the firm’s Earn Interest Product to be a crypto yield product.

The platform announced a phased winding down of operations in the United States due to pressure from authorities.

In March, a California resident filed suit against Nexo for damages arising from “fraudulent inducement” to take loans.