Authorities raid Bulgarian offices of crypto lender Nexo

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

Read more: Scoop: More Genesis creditors say crypto lender duped them

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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