January 24 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria-founded cryptocurrency firm Nexo said on Wednesday that it has filed a $3 billion (2.8 billion euro) arbitration claim against Bulgaria to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, DC, citing damages and lost opportunities resulting from criminal investigations into the company and its executives.
"As a direct result of the politically motivated attack by the Bulgarian prosecutor general's office in January 2023, Nexo’s brand and reputation were damaged, lucrative business opportunities were lost, Nexo AG’s investments in Bulgaria were harmed, and several of Nexo’s planned business activities [...] have been impacted by the allegations and had to be abandoned," Nexo said in a statement.
Last January, the Bulgarian authorities raided the company's local offices as part of a large-scale international operation against alleged financial crimes, which Nexo denied.
In December, the Bulgarian prosecutor's office closed the investigation concluding that no crime has been committed, state news agency BTA reported at the time. The decision was based on the absence of a relevant legal framework for crypto asset services in the country, with the Nexo group not subject to permitting or registration requirements as virtual currency is not regulated as legal tender.
Prior to the investigation, Nexo had been working on a funding round and an initial public offering on a major US stock exchange, with an indicative valuation between $8 billion and $12 billion, the company said. Additionally, the firm was close to signing a multi-year alliance with a major European football club, which would have made Nexo its official digital wallet and primary partner, with a club-branded payment card in the works as well, it added.
($ = 0.9198 euro)