Cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo is seeking damages worth $3 billion from the Bulgarian government after the latter dropped its criminal investigations against the company.
According to Nexo, the investigations allegedly cost the company a major soccer sponsorship deal and a stock market listing in the United States.
Nexo Sues Bulgaria for $3 Billion
Nexo and its subsidiaries filed an arbitration claim with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) – a Washington-based arbitration institution that is part of the World Bank – according to an official press release by the company.
The crypto lender stated that Bulgaria’s investigation into the company, which it termed a “politically motivated attack,” caused reputational damage for the firm, made it lose business opportunities, and thwarted a funding round and an initial public offering (IPO) on a US stock exchange, with an estimated valuation of up to $12 billion.
Nexo also said that the actions of the Bulgarian government made it lose a multi-year strategic partnership deal with a major European football club. According to the press release, the alliance would have made the company the club’s digital wallet provider, which, in turn, would have given the cryptocurrency lender exposure to the team’s over 330 million global supporters.
As a result of these losses, Nexo is seeking financial compensation worth $3 billion from Bulgaria.
Previous Troubles With Bulgarian Authorities
In January 2023, authorities raided Nexo’s Bulgarian offices, with prosecutors investigating the company for alleged tax fraud, money laundering, and organizing a criminal group.
While the firm’s management denied any wrongdoing, Bulgarian prosecutors later dropped all charges against it in December 2023.
Meanwhile, Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev, who previously said his company is planning to sue Bulgaria for $1 billion, noted that the crypto lender’s current lawsuit seeks reparation for financial and reputational damages suffered by the firm.
“By our actions, we hope to show to those in power that actions have consequences and hopefully prevent such unnecessary value destruction going forward. We believe that this will be a vindication for Nexo but also for all good actors in the blockchain space that have found themselves under attack from multiple fronts in the past two years.”
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