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Mt. Gox case, another round in court - The Cryptonomist

source-logo  en.cryptonomist.ch 18 March 2020 07:36, UTC

The judicial case of the former CEO of Mt. Gox, Mark Karpeles, is enriched with a new chapter. The former CEO has accused one of his plaintiffs, Gregory Greene, of altering the basis of the case against him. 

In fact, in the first complaint, Gregory Greene, who was among the first to opt for the legal case against the exchange that closed in 2014, had accused Mt. Gox of fraud. He would have now added new charges but would have done so too late, as Mark Karpeles had already filed for summary judgment

Summary judgment in US jurisdiction shortens the process but forces the parties to present evidence of their innocence or guilt. It is used to shorten court time and expenses. The strategy of Mark Karpeles could be to force his plaintiff to admit that there is insufficient evidence against him.

After all, Greene’s lawsuit is based precisely on the fact that Mt. Gox’s terms of use were not clear, when in fact, claims the former CEO, they predated Greene’s account creation.  

Greene actually filed several lawsuits against the former CEO of Mt. Gox, withdrawing all of them, except one, filed in a district in Illinois, where he accused Mark Karpeles of fraud because as the owner of the exchange he knew the code, the bugs, and all the information hidden from customers. 

Mark Karpeles claims that Greene is unable to prove his guilt in perpetuating the fraud. Greene’s move to add new charges didn’t sit well with the former CEO. 

The Mt. Gox case between verdicts and damages

The case remains open, as does the request of a Venture Capital to acquire the claims of those who were damaged by the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox. The offer is $1,300 for every bitcoin lost. It has to be said that when Mt. Gox closed its doors, one bitcoin was worth $783. 

The story of the first major crypto scandal is worth remembering: Mt. Gox operated from 2010 to 2014. Based in Tokyo, it was considered the world’s largest crypto exchange, handling 70% of all transactions. 

It was the victim of several security breaches, declaring the loss of 744,000 bitcoin. A Japanese court sentenced Mark Karpeles to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment with a suspended sentence. Mt. Gox’s case has set the standard for both exchanges and users who understood the vulnerability of even the largest companies.

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