The Sofia office of cryptocurrency lender Nexo was raided by Bulgarian police on Thursday as part of a probe into possible tax fraud and money laundering.
Best Brokers, a well-known financial advisory website reports that the cryptocurrency lender was under investigation for computer fraud, organised crime, money laundering, tax offenses, and crimes involving the provision of banking services without the proper authorisation.
It has been several months since the investigation into the cryptocurrency company’s operations in the country began.
Unusual transactions were reportedly uncovered by foreign services in an effort to circumvent U.S., UK, and EU sanctions against Russian banks, companies and individuals.
Through the Nexo platform, more than $94 billion has been traded or lent over the last five years.
Siika Mileva, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General of Bulgaria, claims that the business has operated through a number of registered commercial entities, the majority of which are post office boxes or shell companies.
A person who was fired for supporting terrorism is one of the platform’s customers, she continued.
The business, which trades cryptocurrency in the UK, Switzerland, the United States, and offshore locations, is owned by Bulgarian nationals Antoni Trenchev, Kosta Kantchev, and Kalin Metodiev.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, filed a lawsuit against Nexo in September 2022, accusing them of defrauding investors about their registration status and failing to register with the state as brokers or dealers in securities and commodities.
State securities regulators in New York, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington, and Vermont are currently looking into the company for failing to register its Earn Interest Product.
