Bulgarian Authorities Accuse Four Persons After Nexo Office Raid

Reports indicate that after the execution of a search warrant at the offices of the cryptocurrency lender Nexo in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, four persons have been charged with criminal offenses and brought before the appropriate authorities.

In a report that was made public by Bloomberg on the 13th of January, the police in Bulgaria have allegedly charged four people of Bulgaria of being the founders of an organized criminal enterprise. This organization is accused of participating in criminal activity, including money laundering and banking without a license.

As a result of the inquiry, the nation's National Police Service was able to seize a number of valuables, as indicated by the reports. Cash, computers, and several cryptocurrencies were included in these assets.

Nexo said in an interview after the raid that took place on January 12 that the actions performed by the prosecutors were of the "kick first, ask questions later" kind.

Reports state that the company wanted to file a lawsuit in order to seek restitution for damages caused by the behavior of law enforcement. The company is said to have stated that authorities did not identify themselves to Nexo workers nor did they deliver a search warrant to Nexo employees. It is unknown who the persons detained were, nor what responsibilities those individuals may have had at Nexo previous to their arrests. It is also unknown why those individuals were arrested. Over 600 individuals call the loan firm in Sofia, Bulgaria their place of employment.

Nexo is an investment platform that was launched in 2018 and enables users to borrow money against bitcoin while also allowing them to stake their own cryptocurrency holdings.

Although the company has locations in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Bulgaria, it is rumored that it does not offer its services to residents of Bulgaria due to the risk of getting into legal trouble with the Bulgarian government. This is because the company has locations in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Bulgaria.

In December, Nexo made the statement that it planned to progressively remove its services from the United States. The company cited the lack of a clear and regulatory-compliant route ahead as the rationale for this decision.