Ex-CEO of Mine Digital stole $1.5M from a Bitcoiner, says regulator
2024-10-22

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.

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.
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.