Allegatively having stolen $1.47 million from a Bitcoin investor, former Mine Digital CEO Grant Colthup is under serious fraud accusations. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on October 21, 2023, that the investor paid $1.5 million to ACCE Australia, the parent company of Mine Digital, to buy Bitcoin. The investor never did, nevertheless, get the bitcoin.
The Queensland Ipswich Magistrates Court formally accused Colthup with fraud on October 21, 2023. The litigation was postponed by the court to December 16, 2024, allowing both sides plenty of time to ready. Should Colthup be found guilty in Section 408C of Queensland’s Criminal Code 1899, he may spend up to 20 years behind bars.
Over the reported fraud period, Bitcoin’s value varied from $18,890 to $24,580. Given Bitcoin’s price today—$66,800—the stolen money may have been between $4 million and $5.2 million, therefore highlighting even more the case’s importance.
Financial difficulties brought Mine Digital, a bitcoin exchange open from May 2019 to September 2022, under administration. Early research found that ACCE had just around $20,000 in assets, far less than the $16 million creditors had asked for. This obvious discrepancy provoked problems regarding financial management in the company.
Following the December 2022 fall of PKF, Brad Tonks, a corporate recovery and bankruptcy specialist from PKF, was appointed liquidator for ACCE. PKF sued Colthup in January 2023 in order to get the outstanding debts paid back-off.
The court actions against Colthup are under close attention as they not only include a significant financial crime but also send a message to the whole bitcoin industry on the importance of openness and moral management. Colthup’s destiny will be decided by the forthcoming December 2024 trial, which may establish a standard for next instances involving digital currencies all around.
