Crypto lender Nexo seeks $3 billion in damages from Bulgaria over aborted investigation

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo is seeking $3 billion in damages from Bulgaria over an aborted criminal investigation that the company alleges scuppered its plans for a U.S. stock market listing and a soccer sponsorship deal, legal filings seen by Reuters show.

Nexo AG, a Swiss unit of Cayman Islands-based Nexo Capital, alleges the investigation tarnished its reputation and destroyed shareholder value, according to a document filed with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The Washington-based ICSID, an international arbitration institution that handles disputes between international investors and states, registered the case on Jan. 18, its website showed. An ICSID spokesperson could not confirm the level of damages sought or other details.

Bulgaria’s finance ministry said it had received a request for arbitration from the ICSID, which would be reviewed by a specialised inter-departmental committee that would then propose next steps.

“This or any other communications… shall not be considered in any way an admission as to the substance of any claims or as an acceptance of any arbitral jurisdiction,” it added.

Bulgarian prosecutors in Jan. 2023 launched an investigation into Nexo AG, raiding offices in Sofia and charging its founders with offences that included participating in an organised crime group to launder money and commit tax and computer fraud.

via Reuters