Brussels: September 23, 2019
Today a third and find Request for Consultation
requesting that at least €10 billion in a compensation fund be set aside
for victims of cryptocurrency related crime and fraud was lodged by
crypto lawyer Dr. Jonathan Levy with the European
Union Commission. The claim is on behalf of over 30 named victims with
losses now totaling over €20 million. The EU’s position is that the fix
for crypto crime and fraud is that all crypto currency wallets will be
regulated by the beginning of 2020. But not
a penny set aside for victims who have lost billions of Euros to
organized crime syndicates.
The victims’ lawyer lead counsel, Dr. Jonathan Levy rejects the EU position:
“Billions of Euros in crypto assets and cash are
now in the hands of organized gangs of crypto criminals. This is a
national security issue. The European Union Commission is ignoring its
own rules on data protection, anti-money laundering
and payment processing. Currently, 10-20 billion Euros in crypto assets
are within reach and may be lawfully seized by the EU to compensate
victims. This is our immediate goal.”
Dr. Levy in today’s communication to the EU
expanded the cryptocurrency victims claim process to include ICOs,
crypto casinos, and cloud mining frauds. Levy also called the EU and UK
government for ignoring previous complaints about ongoing
frauds and bitmixing. He suggested the EU was deliberately ignoring its
own laws and that the UK was aiding and abetting crypto crime through
nonregulation and permitting the .IO top level domain (British Indian
Ocean Territory) to become the world’s largest
offshore money laundering center by volume. More importantly, Levy
reminded the EU Commission that individual Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency
“Full Nodes” were operating as unlicensed payment processors and
transfer agents and thus personally liable for Bitcoin
related claims.
If the victims’ claims are not addressed, Dr. levy
promises legal action against the EU Commission before the hard Brexit
date of October 31, 2019.
Full copies of today’s communication, the original claim and reply, and the EU response are attached or may be downloaded from:
image by Shutterstock
Dr. Jon Levy is a solicitor who specialises in transnational law and private international law. He has represented the former president of the Republic of China, Chen Shuibian, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, and numerous African entities and political figures. He has been engaged by clients against the US Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), CIA, US Army, and UK Cabinet. As a litigator he specialises in transnational asset recovery and has taken up cases against the Vatican Bank, UBS AG, the Swiss National Bank, Emaar Corporation, and many others.