Ernst & Young Set to Move QuadrigaCX’s Case from Halifax to Toronto  

Ernst & Young Set to Move QuadrigaCX’s Case from Halifax to Toronto  

In line with Halifax’s request, Ernst & Young, a “Big Four” multinational professional services firm in charge of QuadrigaCX’s court proceedings has asked a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to transfer the case to Toronto, to save costs, according to a local news source, The Star on August 28, 2019. 

A New Twist in QuadrigaCX Case 

Nearly nine months after the sudden death of Gerald Cotten, the founder of the now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, users of the platform are yet to get their funds back and it appears that may not happen anytime soon.

Per sources close to the matter, Halifax and Ernst & Young are making plans to move the ongoing court case from Halifax town to Toronto and the latter has prayed the Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to approve the transfer.

In a court document reportedly filed by Ernst & Young, the firm stated categorically that since the case is now focused on people and assets in Ontario, with several law enforcement agencies including the FBI looking into it, moving the case to Toronto will be to the good of all parties.

EY said:

“As the majority of professionals in charge of the case are based in Ontario, there would be huge cost savings if the case is transferred to Ontario. Here are very few ties to Nova Scotia at this time.”

Reportedly, out of the total number of QuadrigaCX creditors, 39 percent are based in Ontario, 19 percent are in British Columbia, 14 percent live in Quebec, while Nova Scotia holds only 1.4 percent of users.

The QuadrigaCX Journey so Far 

Quadriga Fintech Solutions, the parent company of QuadrigaCX was founded in 2013 by Gerald Cotten and Michael Patryn in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

Cotten who reportedly ran QuadrigaCX from his Halifax home and maintained sole access to the private keys of the exchange’s cold wallets, suddenly died in December 2018, while on his way to India, making it impossible for the exchange to continue normal operations.

Earlier in April 2019, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court gave QuadrigaCX the go-ahead to commence bankruptcy proceedings to hasten up the settlement process for creditors. The court also issued an asset preservation order to prevent Cotten’s widow from selling off his assets, as the diseased failed to separate clients’ funds from his personal finances.

As reported by BTCManager in June 2019, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several other law enforcement agencies launched investigations to identify those affected by the collapse of QuadrigaCX.

Presently, over 76,000 unsecured creditors have come forward to claim that the exchange owes them a total of $214.6 million – $74.1 million in fiat money and $140.5 million in BTC and altcoins. 

EY, on the other hand, says it has been able to recover only $30 million in cash. Affected users have until August 31, 2019, to file a claim.

Published at Thu, 29 Aug 2019 23:36:49 +0000

{flickr|100|campaign}