The Celsius Network debacle has cost Caisse de Dépot et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) hundreds of millions, but the company’s top executives have not left empty-handed. Before freezing the deposits of 1.7 million of the cryptobank’s customers last June, they withdrew the equivalent of at least US$24 million over a period of weeks.
Posted at 3:59 p.m
The layoffs took place quietly from April to June – but the company’s financial health worsened due to the fall in cryptocurrency prices – Alex Mashinsky, who recently stepped down as CEO, co-founder Daniel Lyon, who just left, as well as chief technology officer Newk Goldstein. Mr. Mashinky alone collected about 13 million US.
The details are contained in a massive document filed Thursday in a New York court. Celsius Network has been in US bankruptcy protection since July 13.
“We see withdrawals accelerating in April with large amounts,” stressed Saidatou Diko, professor at the Department of Accounting Sciences at ESG UQAM, after consulting the document. It looks a lot like insider trading. [Les hauts dirigeants] Must have known it was going to go off the rails and looks like they were prepared. »
On Thursday, Celsius did not respond to questions from the network Press.
More questions
The content of the report adds to the controversy that has surrounded the Celsius network for months. The cryptobank surprised its users last June by freezing all their assets. Less than 24 hours before the decision was announced, Mr. Mashinsky said there was no need to worry about such a scenario.
Screenshot from Twitter
Alex Mashinsky opined that everything was running like clockwork on the Celsius network when cryptosets were decommissioned last May.
Additionally, the company’s business model has been described as a US government agency Ponzi scheme. A survey Press Mr. It was also demonstrated that Mashinsky’s background was nebulous and the contractor’s claims were inaccurate.
The Celsius network pools cryptocurrency deposits. It offered loans to depositors and interest, which could sometimes reach 17%. Declining cryptocurrency prices since the beginning of the year have pushed it into a liquidity crisis, paving the way for a bankruptcy filing. The debacle forced CDPQ to cancel its 2021 fall 200 million investment in the company.
a “fraud”
Calculations done Press At the time there were withdrawals made by executives as well as related entities. Bitcoin, Ether and the CEL token – the token of the Celsius network – are among the cryptosets revived by MM. Mashinsky, Leon, and Goldstein. More than half of the 24 million US were withdrawn in May.
Mr. Mashinsky made withdrawals equivalent to US$5 million on May 27. Very active in social networks at the time, the latter ignored the cryptobank issues by broadcasting on Twitter, the projects the company had to implement during the year.
“They’re in a scam, Mr.me Deco. They show a very positive attitude when they know that maybe something is wrong. Yet they are in the best position to know what is really going on. »
CDPQ did not want to comment on Thursday on the activities conducted by MM. Mashinsky, Leon, and Goldstein. After admitting its error regarding the Celsius network last August, Quebecers’ woolly socks have not made other public outings. Its due diligence process is still the subject of unanswered questions.
The Caisse wants to be represented on a committee involved in the bankruptcy process, along with other Celsius network shareholders. The goal is to recover money in the event of liquidation of certain assets of the cryptobank.
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- 10 months
- The time elapsed between the announcement of CDPQ’s investment in the Celsius network and the confirmation that the investment had been delisted.
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