ASIC Charges Former Mine Digital CEO in $1.4M Fraud Case

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has charged Grant Colthup, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Mine Digital, in a fraud case involving $1.47 million.

According to a press release, Colthup faces one count of fraud after a customer did not receive Bitcoin in exchange for a payment of 2.2 million Australian dollars (approximately $1.47 million) made in July 2022. ASIC’s complaint alleges that the customer paid the funds to ACCE Australia, expecting Bitcoin in return. However, Colthup reportedly used the money for other purposes.

Mine Digital Faces Allegations

Mine Digital, which operated under the name ACCE Australia Pty Ltd, provided trading services from May 2019 until its collapse in September 2022. Since then, creditors have been working to recover approximately $16 million.

Since its collapse, the firm has faced multiple allegations. The Australian Financial Review investigation uncovered significant discrepancies in the company’s reported assets. For example, while creditors claimed losses of $16 million, the firm reported only $20,000 in assets.

ASIC’s Legal Actions

This case is not ASIC’s only legal action against cryptocurrency firms this year involving investor losses. In April, the regulator launched civil proceedings against NGS Crypto Pty Ltd, NGS Digital Pty Ltd, and NGS Group Ltd for allegedly misleading about 450 investors into investing in blockchain mining packages via self-managed superannuation funds, leading to losses exceeding $104 million.

Moreover, ASIC initiated a nationwide campaign against cryptocurrency scams after receiving criticism in January from Australia’s minister for financial services regarding the agency’s failure to alert the public about a $1.3 billion crypto scam.

In December 2022, ASIC also took legal action against Finder Wallet, a subsidiary of Finder.com. The Australian regulator claimed it provided financial services without an Australian Financial Services license.

In related news, CoinTab reported that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) seized $6.4 million in cryptocurrency from the alleged mastermind behind an encrypted messaging service called Ghost.