Nexo’s Money Laundering Investigation in Bulgaria Closed Due to Lack of Evidence: Report

The Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office has closed its investigation into crypto lender Nexo for alleged money laundering offenses because there was no evidence of criminal activity, the Bulgarian News Agency reported on Friday.

A probe into Nexo, which came to light in January of 2023, also alleged tax offenses, banking without a license, and computer fraud, with a focus on four of its executives – Kosta Kanchev, Antoni Trenchev, Kalin Metodiev, and Trayan Nikolov.

This year saw a general clamping down on cryptocurrency-related activities following the collapse of exchange FTX and the rapid demise of other crypto firms during the latter half of 2022.

Bulgarian authorities said they found “no evidence of criminal activity,” adding that “no evidence of tax offenses or computer fraud was found against the defendants, either,” according to the report. The Prosecutors also concluded that the products offered by Nexo do not constitute financial instruments, the report added.

“The dropping of all charges made against Nexo and its executives by the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, with their confirmation that there were no crimes, unequivocally shows that the whole attack on Nexo was political and should not have happened in the first place,” Nexo co-founder Antoni Trechev told CoinDesk via email. “It also goes a long way in clearing our names and is a vindication for all good actors in crypto.”