2015-09-11 HKT 13:53
Japanese prosecutors said on Friday that they have charged the head of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox with embezzlement, amid fraud allegations over the disappearance of hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-worth of the virtual currency.
The indictment of France-born Mark Karpeles, 30, comes after he was taken into police custody in Tokyo last month over the affair.
The charges are tied to allegations that Karpeles falsified data while another relates to claims he pocketed millions of dollars of Bitcoin deposits. He has been held without formal charge for six weeks, as allowed under Japanese law.
Karpeles was first taken into custody over claims he fraudulently tinkered with data and transferred funds to other firms controlled by him dozens of times between 2011 and 2013.
He was later rearrested for allegedly pocketing about 321 million yen (US$2.7 million) worth of Bitcoin deposits, extending an initial three-week incarceration during which time police likely grilled him over the incident.
The indictment of France-born Mark Karpeles, 30, comes after he was taken into police custody in Tokyo last month over the affair.
The charges are tied to allegations that Karpeles falsified data while another relates to claims he pocketed millions of dollars of Bitcoin deposits. He has been held without formal charge for six weeks, as allowed under Japanese law.
Karpeles was first taken into custody over claims he fraudulently tinkered with data and transferred funds to other firms controlled by him dozens of times between 2011 and 2013.
He was later rearrested for allegedly pocketing about 321 million yen (US$2.7 million) worth of Bitcoin deposits, extending an initial three-week incarceration during which time police likely grilled him over the incident.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1210786-20150911.htm
