The Supreme Court of British Columbia (Canada) has demanded that Michael Patryn, co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, explain the origins of his personal assets, including luxury items.
“The international criminal activities of Quadriga Coin Exchange (QuadrigaCX) resulted in thousands of people losing their savings,” stated Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth.
QuadrigaCX shut down in 2019 following the death of CEO Gerald Cotten.
The prosecution alleges that Patryn, known by the pseudonym 0xsifu, was actively involved in the illicit appropriation of client funds and corporate cryptocurrency reserves.
The British Columbia Civil Forfeiture Office has issued an unexplained wealth order against the suspect.
If the exchange co-founder fails to prove the lawful origin of his funds, authorities will seize $250,200 in cash, 45 gold bars, four luxury watches, and other jewelry items.
“Gold bars are highly liquid, and luxury items like jewelry and Rolex watches attract attention. But they also attract the attention of the police and our government. […] Suspects will have to prove that their assets are the proceeds of lawful activities, not financial crimes,” Farnworth added.
In January 2022, the Wonderland community discovered that the project’s co-founder, under the pseudonym 0xsifu, was Patryn. He is believed to be involved in the collapse of QuadrigaCX, which resulted in users losing about $137 million.
In May, analysts at PeckShield revealed that Patryn took advantage of the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, earning approximately $760,000. He also claimed to have made over $80 million from trading and investments over two years.
Later that year, the co-founder of the collapsed exchange launched the DeFi protocol UwU Lend.