The founders of crypto fintech agency Bankera are going through allegations of misusing funds from their 2018 preliminary coin providing (ICO) to finance the acquisition of luxurious properties all over the world, in accordance with a brand new report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Undertaking (OCCRP).
The OCCRP reported on April 28, citing leaked firm data and financial institution statements, that just about half of the €100 million ($114 million) raised throughout Bankera’s ICO was transferred to a financial institution in Vanuatu.
The establishment had been bought by Bankera’s founders, Vytautas Karalevičius, Justas Dobiliauskas, and Mantas Mockevičius.
Bankera Founders Used ICO Funds to Construct Actual Property Portfolio
The report alleges that the Vanuatu financial institution then issued hundreds of thousands of euros in loans to corporations owned by the trio, enabling them to construct a portfolio of luxurious actual property, together with a villa on the French Riviera and upscale properties in Lithuania, the place Bankera was initially based.
The leaked paperwork reportedly present that funds have been funneled via loans to associated corporations and on to the founders for “private use.”
Attorneys for the founders denied that the ICO was fraudulent however declined to deal with particular transactions.
Bankera had promoted itself because the “financial institution for the blockchain period,” providing providers corresponding to crypto holding, buying and selling, and funding merchandise.
Its ICO attracted traders with guarantees of discounted charges and weekly payouts in BNK tokens.
Nonetheless, one investor instructed the OCCRP that the payouts shortly “dropped considerably beneath the promised quantity” earlier than the revenue-sharing program was halted solely in 2022.
The corporate additionally pledged to safe a European Union banking license, a promise that has but to materialize.
Regardless of elevating €100 million throughout its ICO, the absolutely diluted market worth of Bankera’s BNK token now stands at simply $975,710, in accordance with CoinGecko knowledge.
Bankera stays lively, providing crypto-related monetary providers and sustaining a visual presence on LinkedIn and, to a lesser extent, X (previously Twitter).
This week our group is attending @icegamingglobal convention in Barcelona, Spain. In case you are round come and meet us at our stand 5F47 to be taught extra about our choices for #iGaming companies!#ICE25 pic.twitter.com/4Bu4vLSprz
— Bankera (@Bankeracom) January 20, 2025
The newest allegations, nonetheless, increase new considerations about accountability and transparency inside the crypto fundraising ecosystem.
SEC Drops Dragonchain Crypto Lawsuit Over ICO
Final week, the SEC filed a joint movement with blockchain firm Dragonchain to dismiss its ongoing lawsuit towards the agency.
The SEC initially launched authorized motion towards Dragonchain in August 2022, accusing the agency and its associates of conducting an unregistered securities providing via their 2017 preliminary coin providing (ICO).
Below former Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC pursued aggressive enforcement actions towards quite a few crypto tasks, asserting that many digital belongings certified as unregistered funding securities.
Nonetheless, with President Donald Trump’s reelection and Gensler’s departure, the SEC has softened its stance on cryptocurrency regulation.
The newly shaped Crypto Job Power has targeted on clarifying which digital belongings fall exterior the company’s jurisdiction, lately stating that the majority meme cash are usually not thought of securities.
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