Quadrigacx Co-Founder Compelled to Account for 45-Bar Gold Stash

Michael Patryn, co-founder of the now-defunct Quadrigacx cryptocurrency exchange, has been compelled by Canadian officers to explain the origin of his wealth. Patryn must explain how he acquired a stash of 45 gold bars, more than $ 180,000 in cash, and a jewelry set with a diamond-studded Rolex watch.

Quadrigacx Cofounder Must Explain 45 Gold Bar Fortune

Michael Patryn, co-founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Quadrigacx, is facing issues over some of his unaccounted assets. Patryn, also known as Omar Dhanani, is now being compelled by Canadian officers to explain how he got hold of a 45 gold bar stash, a hoard of over $ 180,000 in cash, and a jewelry set including a diamond-studded Rolex watch.

According to Bloomberg, the Director of Civil Forfeiture in British Columbia introduced an order for Patryn to justify how these seized assets were acquired. The procedure might reveal a connection with one of the most relevant cryptocurrency cases of the last decade: the fall of Quadrigacx.

The Canadian exchange lost access to part of its reserves after its co-founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten, died under unusual circumstances during a trip to India in 2018. The Quadrigacx saga entailed thousands of investors losing access to their funds and revealed a web of misappropriation involving millions in assets.

However, there is the possibility that some of these assets held by Patryn might be part of Quadrigacx’s misappropriated holdings. The filing found chats between Patryn and Cotten that discussed Patryns public exit from the exchange and the theft of users’ funds circa 2014.

Patryn has filed documents stating that these funds are not linked to “unlawful activity,” but their source has not been specified. Patryn and his lawyers must explain their allegations before a judge in April.

Nonetheless, if he fails to justify the origin of these funds, these might be forfeited. “If they are the proceeds of criminal activity like fraud, drug trafficking, or money laundering, we will go after them,” stressed British Columbia’s Solicitor General Mike Farnworth