Nexo wants 3 billion dollars in compensation from Bulgaria for the aborted investigation

Cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo is seeking $3 billion in damages from the Bulgarian government following botched criminal investigations.

Nexo disclosed details of its $3 billion arbitration claim against the Republic of Bulgaria in a January 24 direct mail to Cointelegraph. Claims are filed through the Washington-based World Bank's Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). , DC in the United States.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Bulgarian prosecutors dropped their charges against Nexo in December 2023, saying there was no evidence of a crime against four Bulgarian nationals charged following a raid on Nexo's offices earlier this year.

Prosecutors initially alleged that Nexo executives were involved in an organized crime syndicate from 2018 to 2023 that aimed to obtain loans from crypto. Bulgarian nationals and Nexo co-founders Kosta Kanchev, Antony Trenchev, Triyan Nikolov and Kalin Metodiev were indicted following the raid in January 2023.

Prosecutors cited Bulgaria's lack of a legal regime covering crypto-assets as the reason for dropping the case.

Related: Bulgarian prosecutors drop charges against Nexo execs citing no evidence of criminal activity

Nexo filed legal documents with ICSID on January 18 through its Swiss subsidiary, Nexo AG. The institution handles legal disputes between international investors and nation-states.

Nexo said it was working with three U.S. banks on a major stock exchange initial public offering, with an initial valuation of between $8 and $12 billion. The company also said Nexon was on the verge of signing a multi-year deal with a major, yet-to-be-named European soccer club that could expose it to more than 330 million fans worldwide.

A statement from Trenchev said Nexo suffered as a result of the suspended investigation, although the business was able to continue operations.

“Our growth path has slowed down and opportunities have been lost or significantly delayed. I personally promised Nexo 10 months ago that we would explore all legal avenues to obtain financial compensation for Nexo,” Trenchev said.

Related: Nexo Joins Sanctions Association As Regulatory Scrutiny Increases.

A separate report from Reuters confirmed that Bulgaria's Finance Ministry had received an ICSID arbitration request pending review.

Following the January raid, Nexo agreed to a $45 million settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association for failing to register the offer and sale of its interest products. Controllers. The platform shut down production in April.

The agreement with US regulators follows an announcement by Nexo in December 2023 that the lender plans to cease operations in the country. The company cited a “lack of regulatory transparency” in the country, leading to the decision to exit.

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