By
Andy Watson
November 15th, 2023
Nexo says its lawsuit against a former director results from several infractions, including breaching an agreement.
Nexo has filed a lawsuit against former director Georgi Shulev over a $7.9 million trading loss. According to the crypto loan company, Shulev also failed to honor his side of a settlement agreement. Nexo is now asking the UK High Court to order its ex-director to transfer nine crypto assets to the crypto lender, including bitcoin and ether. The company claims that this was the original requirement of the now-breached settlement agreement with Shulev, who was supposed to receive $1 million.
Nexo also claims that it has been locked out of a BitMEX account since 2019, and now wants to recoup losses. This is because, during that time, the value of digital currencies plunged, eventually resulting in the $7.9 million loss. Between November and July, leading crypto Bitcoin (BTC) crashed from an all-time high of $69,000 to $17,500. During the same period, Ether (ETH) also sank from $4,850 to a measly $875.
Other Matters Pertinent to Nexo Lawsuit Against Former Director
Amid the Nexo lawsuit against its former director, BitMEX parent company HDR Global petitioned the High Court for clarity. The parent company of the trading platform wants the court to determine who owned the account after Shulev departed Nexo in 2019. This is because both Shulev and Nexo were obligated to inform HDR once Nexo assumed control of the account. Nexo alleges that Shulev is now refusing to fulfill that obligation.
However, the former director of the crypto loan company reportedly has his reasons for refusing to play ball with Nexo at the moment. According to him, Nexo breached an agreement to transfer the first of five slated installment payments to him. Only after this dispute is resolved will he be liable for fulfilling his end of the agreement.
Nexo to Acquire Distressed Rival Crypto Lenders
Nexo plans to take advantage of the sustained market slump by acquiring distressed companies. The company is looking to buy out rival crypto loan platforms such as Vauld and Celsius Network. Both troubled companies took drastic measures several weeks ago in a bid to stay afloat in the face of the bearish market. Some of the measures taken include freezing customer withdrawals, swaps, and transfers. At the time, Celsius claimed to be working in the interest of its user base, saying:
“We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets. Furthermore, customers will continue to accrue rewards during the pause in line with our commitment to our customers.”
Nexo has already initiated the acquisition process for Vauld. The company now has a 60-day exclusive exploratory period to conduct due diligence. Speaking on this at the time, Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev explained:
“We have to see what exactly is on their books and it’s going to take a little while. But since we have the exclusive explanatory period, we are the only ones looking at them right now.”
Read more crypto news on Coinspeaker.