New details have emerged on the state of QuadrigaCX, the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that suddenly found itself in a state of crisis when its CEO suddenly passed away, taking access to over 76,000 users’ funds with him to the grave.
Ernst & Young, the court-appointed third-party auditor that has been sorting out the exchange’s finances, has discovered a “material discrepancy” between Quadriga’s reported fiat and cryptocurrency holdings. In other words, the exchange appears to have been in bad financial trouble even before its CEO’s death.
As a matter of fact, each of the three companies associated with QuadrigaCX - Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp., Whiteside Capital Corporation, and 0984750 B.C. Ltd (QuadrigaCX). - are currently in bankruptcy. Ernst & Young instructed QuadrigaCX to file for bankruptcy in early April.
$359 Million in Debt
According to a report by Australian new source Micky, 0984750 B.C. Ltd. (QuadrigaCX) owes US$160,688,982 while having assets worth US$21,343,192 (a debt of US$139,345,790); Whiteside Capital Corporation, the parent company of QuadrigaCX, owes US$159,875,011 while having zero assets; Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp., the parent company of Whiteside and QuadrigaCX, owes US$160,051,461 while having assets worth US$189,345 (a debt of US$159,862,116.)
Collectively, the three companies owe $359,082,917.
Meanwhile, the assets that allegedly existed in wallets that were only accessible by the exchange’s CEO are still at large. Ernst & Young have managed to locate and secure roughly $500,000 in Cryptocurrencies that it found in some of the exchange’s wallets and from “other sources.”
These assets include:
- 61 Bitcoin (BTC)
- 33 Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- 2,661 Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
- 851 Llitecoin (LTC)
- 960 Ether (ETH)
Ernst & Young has allegedly been searching for Quadriga’s assets in other cryptocurrency exchanges, but with limited success. While some of the funds have been recovered through these searches, “many of the cryptocurrency exchanges have not cooperated with the Monitor’s requests to date.”
Therefore, Ernst & Young “intends to continue to pursue information requests from the exchanges and may seek the assistance of regulatory or law enforcement agencies if necessary.” Even so, it seems unlikely that any significant amount of cash will come from the search.
