Top executives at the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network withdrew at least $30 million of cryptocurrencies in the month before suspending customer withdrawals from the platform, court documents show.
Now-former Chief Executive Alex Mashinsky, co-founder Daniel Leon and Chief Technology Officer Nuke Goldstein made a series of withdrawals in May totaling more than $30 million, according to bankruptcy court documents submitted by Celsius lawyers in New York late Wednesday. Transactions were denominated in bitcoin, ether, USDC, Celsius's own CEL token and "wrapped" bitcoin.
Mashinsky withdrew about $10 million in cryptocurrency over the course of May, the filing shows. Leon withdrew about $7 million and Goldstein withdrew around $13 million. The calculations include withdrawals by entities and people related to the executives, as designated by Celsius advisors. A Celsius representative didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Celsius, once one of the industry's most prominent lenders, suspended customer withdrawals in June and filed for bankruptcy protection the following month after making risky bets before the broader crypto market soured. The bankruptcy judge presiding over the case recently appointed an examiner to explore allegations of misconduct against the company and its executives.
Mashinsky stepped down from his position as CEO last month, followed by Leon, whose resignation from the firm was confirmed by Celsius on Tuesday.
CoinDesk earlier reported on the withdrawals.
