• Home
  • News
    • People moves
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Caribbean
    • Domicile
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • North America
    • Middle East
    • US
    • US
    • UK
  • Products
    • Funds
    • Pensions
    • Platforms
    • Insurance
    • Investments
    • Private Banking
    • Citizenship
    • Taxation
  • Fintech
  • Regulation
  • ESG
  • Expats
  • In Depth
  • Special Reports
  • Directory
  • Video
  • Advertise with us
  • Directory
  • Events
  • European Fund Selector
  • Newsletters
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
  • Advertise with us
  • Directory
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      Sustainable Investment Festival 2021

      The Sustainable Investment Festival will run online from 22-25 June and will include thought-provoking presentations from renowned keynote speakers, innovative breakout events and sessions specifically tailored to meet the information needs of fund selectors, financial advisers, pension consultants, trustees and scheme managers.

      • Date: 22 Jun 2021
      • Online, Online
      View all events
  • European Fund Selector
International Investment
International Investment

Sponsored by

Sharing Alpha
  • Home
  • News
  • Products
  • Fintech
  • Regulation
  • ESG
  • Expats
  • In Depth
  • Special Reports
  • Video
  • Cryptocurrencies

Quadriga investors want founder's body exhumed

Quadriga investors want founder's body exhumed
  • Pedro Gonçalves
  • @PeterHSG
  • 17 December 2019
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  

Lawyers for clients of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX  have asked police to exhume the body of its founder, whose sudden death last year trapped millions of dollars in digital currencies in its accounts, to confirm they are indeed those of Gerald Cotten.

Gerald Cotten died in December 2018 while traveling to India due to complications from Crohn's disease. Cotten's death has been under suspicion since it was announced, with some circulating a conspiracy theory that the CEO may have faked his own death.

Related articles

  • Crypto exchange QuadrigaCX not regulated by Canadian securities watchdog
  • Crypto boss dies holding only password to unlock $145m in customer coins
  • Quadriga's crypto ended up in CEO's accounts
  • Quadriga's crypto-cash disappeared before founder's death

Cotten's widow, Jennifer Robertson, wrote that he died of complications from Crohn's disease, which is rarely fatal. However, a death certificate obtained by CoinDesk from the Indian hospital where Cotten reportedly died in misspelled his name.

To confirm both its identity and the cause of death given the questionable circumstances surrounding Mr. Cotten’s death"

The 30-year-old was the only person with access to passwords for the digital wallets holding some $137m.

In the wake of his death, QuadrigaCX, which had about 115,000 users, was unable to locate or secure a significant amount of cryptocurrency reserves.

Now, lawyers representing users of the platform wrote a letter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police  requesting an autopsy to confirm Cotten's identity and cause of death "given the questionable circumstances" surrounding his death.

Cotten's widow, Jennifer Robertson, has said in her affidavit she has received online threats and "slanderous comments," including questions about the nature of Cotten's death, and whether he is really dead.

"The purpose of this letter is to request, on behalf of the Affected Users, that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the "RCMP"), conduct an exhumation and post-mortem autopsy on the body of Gerald Cotten to confirm both its identity and the cause of death given the questionable circumstances surrounding Mr. Cotten's death and the significant losses of Affected Users," reads a Dec. 13 letter posted on lawyer Miller Thomson's website.

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."

Auditors Ernst & Young found in May the exchange's crypto wallets were empty, with most of the crypto holdings transferred to other exchanges and wallets. Auditors have recouped about $25 million, according to The Telegraph. But nearly all of that money was cash.​

Substantial amounts of money had been transferred to Cotten's personal holdings, the auditors found. Cotten appears to have overstated the company's revenue, and reportedly created fake accounts and used them to trade counterfeit bitcoin for real cash and cryptocurrency, according to the audit. It appears Cotten has kept no records since 2016, according to The Washington Post.

Quadriga CX was believed to be one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada before its collapse.

 

Subscribe to International Investment's free, twice-daily, newsletter

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Quadriga CX
  • Canada

More on Cryptocurrencies

Will Cardano's coming of age hit Bitcoin and Ethereum?

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 06 April 2021
WisdomTree adopts multi-custodian model for Bitcoin ETP

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 31 March 2021
Further Bitcoin falls will see institutional investor surge, says deVere CEO

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 30 March 2021
Bitcoin poised to hit all-time high of $60,000, forecasts deVere boss

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 09 March 2021
Europe's wealth mangers increasingly focusing on Bitcoin: survey

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 01 March 2021
Back to Top

Most read

Will Cardano's coming of age hit Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Will Cardano's coming of age hit Bitcoin and Ethereum?
First digital only bank in UAE set to go live
First digital only bank in UAE set to go live
UK government must 'U-turn' on pension age change
UK government must 'U-turn' on pension age change
Standard Chartered names Singapore heavy hitter for global role
Standard Chartered names Singapore heavy hitter for global role
UK life office CEO dies
UK life office CEO dies
  • Contact Us
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms and conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading