Bulgaria contributes to international operation against cryptocurrency trading platform

The Bulgarian prosecution service is investigating the cryptocurrency trading platform Nexo, which has used dummy companies in its business activities, the Prosecutor General's Spokesperson Siika Mileva told journalists in Sofia on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, prosecution and Interior Ministry officers raided two Nexo offices in Sofia.

The raids were part of an international law enforcement operation in which the Bulgarian authorities are cooperating with foreign institutions. The investigation started months ago. It is about money laundering, tax crimes and other offences.

Over the last few years, Nexo has handled more than USD 94 billion in assets, Mileva said. One of its clients has been implicated in funding terrorism.

An investigator told Bulgarian National Radio that Nexo depositors have been urged to invest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and have been promised high profits. The company's owners, who are Bulgarian, are suspected of having embezzled several billion dollars in assets.

The news website Capital.bg reported that investors have filed several lawsuits against Nexo. The most recent one has been lodged by three Irish entrepreneurs who are claiming at least USD 59 million. They accuse the company of freezing accounts and forcing clients to sell at prices far below market levels.

Due to regulatory pressure and legal action by the prosecution service of New York, Nexo withdrew from the US market, Capital.bg says. Although it is operating from Sofia, it does not offer its services to people in Bulgaria. It manages more than USD 2.4 billion in clients' assets.