Ex-CEO of Mine Digital stole $1.5M from Bitcoiner, regulator alleges

Reported by Cointelegraph: The transaction happened just two months before the firm went bust in September 2022, the Australian financial regulator said.

The former CEO of Australian crypto exchange Mine Digital is facing one count of fraud for allegedly stealing $1.47 million (2.2 million Australian dollars) from a customer who sought to swap the funds for Bitcoin.

In a statement on Oct. 21, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the customer paid $1.5 million to Mine Digital’s parent, ACCE Australia, but never received the crypto.

ASIC alleges that Grant Colthup used the funds to pay ACCE’s liabilities, purchase cryptocurrency for others, or a combination of both.

It’s the latest accusation against the firm, which collapsed in September 2022.  Since then, creditors have sought to recover $16 million.

ASIC said Colthup was informed of the fraud charge in a hearing at the Magistrates Court in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on Oct. 21, and the case was adjourned to Dec. 16.

Colthup was charged under section 408C of Queensland’s Criminal Code 1899, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Bitcoin fluctuated between $18,890 and $24,580 when ASIC says the customer tried to make the Bitcoin purchase, CoinGecko data shows.

With Bitcoin currently trading around $67,460, that Bitcoin would now be worth between $4 million and $5.24 million.

Mine Digital operated a crypto exchange platform and offered various trading services between May 2019 and September 2022 — when it entered administration.

An early investigation revealed that only $20,000 worth of assets were under ACCE’s control — far short of the $16 million claimed by creditors, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Oct. 13, 2022.

PKF’s business recovery and insolvency partner, Brad Tonks, was appointed ACCE’s liquidator a little over two months after the cryptocurrency platform collapsed on Dec. 1, 2022.

The AFR reported that PKF was reportedly looking to sue Colthup in January 2023, seeking a court order for Colthup to compensate creditors left chasing $16 million.