Former CEO of Bitcoin trading platform sued for stealing $2.66 million from customers

     NetEase Technology News, September 13, according to Reuters, Mark Karpeles, the former boss of the now-closed Bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox, was indicted by Japanese prosecutors. The media said he was accused of stealing $2.7 million in customer funds.

     The French-born Caparis, 30, was arrested last month for losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins. The indictment filed last Friday alleges that Caparis stole a total of 321 million yen (about $2.66 million) by transferring customer funds from Mt. Gox bank accounts to other accounts, according to media reports.

     The Japanese prosecutor's office did not immediately comment on this. The media quoted sources as saying that the money was used to purchase computer software development rights and expensive custom beds. Mt. Gox was once the world's largest Bitcoin trading center. Kaparis is suspected of falsifying the trading platform's outstanding balance data.

     But a Japanese media outlet quoted sources involved in the investigation as saying that Kaparis denied the allegations and told investigators that the data falsification was done by the company and that he intended to repay the money.