Authorities raid Bulgarian offices of crypto lender Nexo

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Bulgarian authorities have raided the Sofia offices of crypto lender Nexo amid claims of a number of violations, including tax offenses and computer fraud.

Police targeted more than 15 sites across the city on Thursday as part of what prosecutors called “a pre-trial investigation aimed at neutralizing an illegal criminal activity,” (via Reuters).

In a statement, government spokesperson Siyka Mileva said, “Evidence has been collected that a person who used the platform and transferred cryptocurrencies has been officially declared a terrorist financing person.”

Nexo denied the allegations in a Twitter thread. The firm says that it not only implements robust Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) measures but is “cooperating with the relevant authorities and regulators.”

It also accuses regulators of adopting a “kick first, ask questions later approach” that is “bordering on racketeering.”

Over the years, we have turned down a lot of business because Nexo never makes compromises with regard to our very stringent anti-money laundering and know-your-customer policies. But we have always known that this is how you build a sustainable business. 1/
— Nexo (@Nexo) January 12, 2023

In an email to CoinDesk, Nexo also clarified that the raids affected, “a Bulgarian entity of the group that is not customer facing, but only has back-office functions – payroll, customer support, compliance,” (our emphasis).

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