BitGrail has announced that bitcoins stored in the firm’s wallets have been seized from its Italian exchange by authorities, reports CoinTelegraph.
The Tribunal of Florence court order to seize the funds is part of an ongoing saga in the Italian courts which began when a US class action was filed against the company in order to compensate victims for the loss of 17 million XRB (Nano) tokens, thought to have been stolen in January of this year. They were worth about USD 187 million at the time the theft was reported.
The original hacking prompted BitGrail to freeze trading in February, followed by the Nano community starting a legal fund through creditor Espen Enger who represented nearly 600 victims at the time. Reportedly, BonelliErede is now filing the bankruptcy petition on behalf of Enger who has made contact with over 3,000 claimants and made a statement indicating that a speedy and “equitable” resolution was needed:
In the latest in this complex case, the recent new court action revealed:
“On June 5, 2018, pursuant to the Tribunal of Florence orders, the bitcoins contained in the company’s wallets were seized and brought under control of the judicial authorities pending further Court decisions in the pre-bankruptcy proceeding.”
The hack caused a series of arguments between BitGrail and the Nano Foundation over which of the two companies were the vulnerable parties. For its part, the Nano foundation suggested it will provide the victims of the hack through the establishment of a legal fund and access to legal support to pursue their claims against the now insolvent BitGrail.
The seizure of BTC was authorized after a petition to the court filed by victims of the BitGrail hack, asserting that the exchange is bankrupt under article 6 of Italian bankruptcy law.
In other news from Italy, the Bank of Italy’s deputy governor has just announced that the country’s central banks have no current plans to issue government-backed cryptocurrencies, according to Cryptona.
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