from the conspiracy-theory-or-an-effective-ruse dept.
A group of aggrieved crypto-coin investors want to exhume the corpse of a digital money exchange boss in a bid to find their missing millions.
Lawyers representing the out-of-pocket Quadriga CX punters have filed a request [PDF] to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to dig up and examine the body of Gerald Cotten, the deceased CEO of the now-defunct exchange.
In the letter, attorneys from law firm Miller Thomson ask that a detailed autopsy be performed in order to determine the exact cause of death for Cotten, who is interred at a cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
[...] Cotten is the exec who singlehandedly caused the crash of the Quadriga CX exchange late last year when, while apparently traveling in India, he was said to have died of complications related to Crohn's disease.
How? He apparently had the only copy of the passwords for the wallets where the funds (about $190 million) were held. That was the end for the Quadriga CX exchange. It was later discovered that Cotten had already drained the wallets to personal accounts. Given the circumstances of the death and the handling of the funds, there is a question that the death might have been faked.
It is hoped the exhumation and autopsy will clearly identify the body as actually being that of Cotten and thus end speculations of a possible ruse.
Previously:
Laptop of Crypto-Exchange Owner who Died with Keys to $137m Finally Cracked
Digital Exchange Loses $137M as Founder Takes Passwords to the Grave
Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/16/dead_coin_exec_exhumation/
Related Stories
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
A cryptocurrency exchange in Canada has lost control of at least $137 million of its customers' assets following the sudden death of its founder, who was the only person known to have access the the offline wallet that stored the digital coins. British Columbia-based QuadrigaCX is unable to access most or all of another $53 million because it's tied up in disputes with third parties.
The dramatic misstep was reported in a sworn affidavit that was obtained by CoinDesk. The affidavit was filed Thursday by Jennifer Robertson, widow of QuadrigaCX's sole director and officer Gerry Cotten. Robertson testified that Cotten died of Crohn's disease in India in December at the age of 30.
Following standard security practices by many holders of cryptocurrency, QuadrigaCX stored the vast majority of its cryptocurrency holdings in a "cold wallet," meaning a digital wallet that wasn't connected to the Internet. The measure is designed to prevent hacks that regularly drain hot wallets of millions of dollars (Ars has reported on three such thefts here, here, and here.)
Thursday's court filing, however, demonstrates that cold wallets are by no means a surefire way to secure digital coins. Robertson testified that Cotten stored the cold wallet on an encrypted laptop that only he could decrypt. Based on company records, she said the cold wallet stored $180 million in Canadian dollars ($137 million in US dollars), all of which is currently inaccessible to QuadrigaCX and more than 100,000 customers.
"The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the Companies' business is encrypted, and I do not know the password or recovery key," Robertson wrote. "Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere."
The expert, she added, has already accessed Cotten's personal and work email accounts and is now trying to gain access to an encrypted email account. Cotten also used an encrypted messaging system, but the chances of successfully reading the communications appear dim because, the expert has reported, "messages would disappear from the encrypted messaging system after a short period."
-- submitted from IRC
Following on from an earlier story about the Canadian Crypto exchange whose owner died under suspicious circumstances with the keys to $137m of customers' assets, Business Insider Australia reports that some progress has been made[*] Spoiler alert: the funds are all gone.
The case has sparked numerous theories, including that he faked his own death and ran off with the cash.
However, court-appointed auditor Ernst & Young was able to crack Cotten's laptop. What they found, according to an EY report dated March 1, the accounts had been emptied in April 2018, eight months before his death.[*]
[* Ed.'s Update/Correction -- FP]
[...] A court-appointed auditor, Ernst & Young, has secured Cotten’s laptop, home computer, USB keys and home computer. Using public blockchain records, it determined the digital wallets thought to contain millions were emptied in April, eight months before his death [...]
I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @05:59AM (8 children)
Did they think he has eaten the money?
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Wednesday December 18 2019, @10:20AM (3 children)
No. They plan to use AI to get the passwords from his brain before it decays any further. (Assuming the Zombies did not get there first).
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday December 18 2019, @11:35AM
The password is, "BRAAAIIIINNSSSS123456789"
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @12:53PM (1 child)
I thought "blockchain" was supposed to cure things like Crohn's disease and cancer, and even end all pain and suffering. Now you're telling me that it's this so called AI that is our Savior, but that conflicts with Cyber which is the true panacea. IoT, Quantum, and 5G were close behind but didn't make the cut.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @02:23PM
Parent wins the buzz word Olympics!
(Score: 4, Informative) by epitaxial on Wednesday December 18 2019, @01:00PM (1 child)
No he died while over in India. They want to make sure the person in the coffin is really him.
(Score: 1) by Jay on Wednesday December 18 2019, @03:47PM
I think a lot of people would find it hard to not embezzle $190m and fake their own death if given the chance. And of all the places to disappear into a sea of humanity, India has to be high on the list. Probably not hard to bribe some folks to sail you away to somewhere else either. Northern bit of Iran is not a terrible place to set up shop. Hills and forests, Caspian sea to play in. They're likely not going to be snitching to people and extraditing you, especially with that much money to grease the wheels.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday December 18 2019, @04:08PM
No, they think he might not actually be dead. In which case, he could be living a life of luxury in some random non-extradition country.
Well, more like, they hope he's only faking it and they can get their money back.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday December 18 2019, @04:42PM
They want to interrogate him for the password he did not disclose.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @06:10AM (1 child)
Where's a wannabe banker with pockets full of box top stamps going to go? India's not going to tolerate some foreigner without papers walking about their country. Nor will any other country, where one could live comfortably, in this day and age let someone with shady funding and papers stay. Yes, America and Europe let random people in through their southern borders, but that deal is only for slaves. If a migrant should suddenly wave around 500 Euro notes regularly and buy a castle, the authorities are going to take great interest in him.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @06:26AM
Burma. Sorry, Myanmar. For as long as he can drop those note that he regularly waves in the correct pockets.
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday December 18 2019, @06:10PM
https://archive.is/QBVQJ [archive.is]
modify to suit your needs in this lost coin situation if you like.
(Score: 3, Funny) by deimtee on Wednesday December 18 2019, @06:18PM
Gerald Cotten has filed an opposing motion, saying he is definitely dead, the body is definitely his, and he does not want his grave disturbed.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by Codesmith on Wednesday December 18 2019, @06:42PM (1 child)
So the Globe and Mail (one of Canada's national newspapers) did an investigation into this last February. The article is paywalled, but here is a version [coinspectator.com] of it (from coinspectator.com).
Yup he's dead, and the body came back to Canada, was handled by a funeral home here and was buried here. Yup his handling of bitcoin was at best appalling or at worst criminal.
I think the lawyers are just trying to justify their fees.
Pro utilitate hominum.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @08:58PM
So are you saying that all the officials in India have such integrity that absolutely none of them would accept a $1 million USD bribe to fake a death.
I'd say that it's far from settled based on the link you gave.
Seeing how the person "embezzled" (?) $190 million briefly before dying in an odd way in an odd place, I think there is definitely a smell-test suspicion which warrants further investigations. At least in my opinion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 18 2019, @09:41PM
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/the-strange-tale-of-quadriga-gerald-cotten [vanityfair.com]
Found this in the Register comments.