The founders of the Crypto Fintech Bankera firm are facing allegations of non-use of the funds of their initial parts (ICO) 2018 to finance the purchase of luxury properties worldwide, according to a new report on the report on organized and corruption crime (OCCRP).
The OCCRP reported on April 28, quoting the company’s files disclosed and bank declarations, that almost half of the 100 million euros ($ 114 million) collected at the ICO in Bankera were transferred to a Vanuatu bank.
The institution had been bought by the founders of Bankera, Vytautas Karalevičius, Justas Dobiliauskas and Mantas Mockevičius.
The founders of Bankera used ICO funds to build a real estate portfolio
The report alleys that the Vanuatu bank then issued millions of euros in loans to companies belonging to the trio, allowing them to build a portfolio of luxury real estate, including a villa on the French Riviera and high -end properties in Lithuania, where Bandera was initially founded.
The disclosed documents would have shown that the funds have been channeled by loans to linked companies and directly to the founders for “personal use”.
Founders’ lawyers have denied that ICO was fraudulent but refused to resolve specific transactions.
Bankera had promoted himself as the “Bank for the Blockchain era”, offering services such as holding, trading and crypto investment products.
Its ICO attracted investors with reduced rate promises and weekly payments in BNK tokens.
However, an investor told the OCCRP that payments “quickly dropped considerably below the promised amount” before the income sharing program was fully interrupted in 2022.
The company is also committed to obtaining a banking license from the European Union, a promise that has not yet materialized.
Despite the increase of 100 million euros during its ICO, the fully diluted market value of the Bankera BNK token is now $ 975,710, according to Coigecko data.
Bankera remains active, offering financial services related to crypto and maintaining a visible presence on LinkedIn and, to a lesser extent, X (formerly Twitter).
The latest allegations, however, raise new concerns about responsibility and transparency within the cryptographic fund collection ecosystem.
Dry drops dragonchain crypto the laws on iCo
Last week, the SEC filed a joint request from the Blockchain Dragonchain company to reject its current trial against the cabinet.
The SEC initially launched a legal action against Dragonchain in August 2022, accusing the company and its affiliates of carrying out an offer of titles not registered through their initial offer of parts (ICO) 2017.
Under former President Gary Gensler, the SEC continued aggressive implementation measures against many crypto projects, saying that many digital assets have qualified as not registered investment securities.
However, with the re-election of President Donald Trump and the departure of peopleler, the dry has softened his position on the regulation of cryptocurrencies.
The newly formed crypto working group has focused on the clarification of digital assets that do not fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, recently declaring that most coins are not considered titles.
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