The former CEO of the Australian cryptocurrency exchange Mine Digital is facing one count of fraud for allegedly stealing $1.47 million (2.2 million Australian dollars) from a customer who once sought to swap the funds for Bitcoin.

In a statement on Oct. 21, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the Mine Digital customer paid $1.5 million to ACCE Australia — but never received the cryptocurrency in exchange. 

ASIC alleges that Colthup either used the funds to pay ACCE’s liabilities, purchase cryptocurrency for others, or a combination of both.

It’s the latest accusations to be flung against the firm, which collapsed in September 2022. Since then, creditors have sought to recover $16 million from the firm. 

The country’s securities regulator said Grant Colthup was informed of the fraud charge in a hearing at the Magistrates Court in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on Oct. 21, and the case against Colthup has been adjourned to Dec. 16, 2024.

Ex-CEO of Mine Digital stole $1.5M from a Bitcoiner, says regulator image 0

Source: ASIC

Colthup was charged under section 408C of Queensland’s Criminal Code 1899, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Bitcoin fluctuated between $18,890 and $24,580 when ASIC claims the customer made the $1.47 million Bitcoin purchase, CoinGecko data shows.

With Bitcoin currently trading around $67,460, that Bitcoin would now be worth anywhere between $4 million and $5.24 million.

Related: Bitcoiners slam Saylor for throwing weight behind ‘too big to fail’ banks

Mine Digital operated a crypto exchange platform and offered various trading services between May 2019 and September 2022 — when it entered administration.

An early investigation revealed that only $20,000 worth of assets were under ACCE’s control — far short of the $16 million claimed by creditors, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Oct. 13, 2022.

PKF’s Business Recovery and Insolvency Partner Brad Tonks was appointed as ACCE’s liquidator a little over two months after the cryptocurrency platform collapsed on Dec. 1, 2022.

However, PKF was reportedly looking to sue Colthup one month later in January 2023, seeking a court order on Colthup to compensate creditors left chasing $16 million, the AFR reported.

Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments: Trezor CEO