Bulgarian Prosecutors Launch Action Against Crypto Crime In Sofia

• Bulgaria launched a probe of crypto lender Nexo and raided its headquarters.
• Previously, Nexo offered up to 36% per year on their crypto staking.
• The company reaffirms its commitment to cooperate with authorities and regulators.

According to Bulgarian National Television (BNT), an international operation is underway in the capital city of Sofia to combat financial crimes, money laundering, and breaches of international sanctions against Russia.

Prosecutors, investigators from the National Investigation Service, and DANS officers, together with foreign agents, have begun searching the Bulgarian offices of the company that traded cryptocurrencies worldwide.

BNT noted that the company in question is Nexo, a blockchain-based lending platform. The probe into the company’s activities came live after foreign services detected suspicious transactions reportedly aimed at bypassing sanctions imposed by the European Union, the UK, and the US on Russian banks, companies, and citizens.

Notably, Nexo has been under FBI scrutiny due to a $4 billion gap of investor funds in its balance sheet, including unlawful lending in return for collateral and allegations of misappropriation of customers’ assets and commodities.

According to a statement from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), investors might earn up to 36% per year on their crypto holdings at Nexo. DFPI noted that the figure was far greater than the returns on short-term investment-grade fixed-income products or traditional savings accounts.

In a Twitter thread today, Nexo described the recent regulatory crackdown as a ‘kick first, ask questions later’ approach.

Nonetheless, Nexo added that the company remains committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities and regulators while hoping for some exciting news in the weeks to come. Notably, the Nexo platform has processed 3.6 million transactions worth more than $94 billion over the last five years.