The fate of the former CEO of Mt. Gox; Mark Karpeles will be made known by Friday after the prosecutors have provided claims against him. Mark Karpeles was the CEO of the now-defunct Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange; Mt. Gox.

His verdict will be handed down to him by a court in Tokyo based on charges laid against him. He has been accused of faking computerized data and laundering millions of dollars.

The prosecutors on the case have called for a sentence of ten years for the thirty-three years old French man. However, he denied the charges against him.

The Charges Against Him

It is alleged that Mark Karpeles continuously manipulated digital data for many years as he successfully embezzled an overall amount of ¥341 million. It is $3 million when converted to dollars.

These were money meant for clients that were deposited in the organization. Furthermore, the prosecutors are claiming he spent the laundered money on a 3D printing software venture which was not needed for Mt. Gox.

He also used the money for his own expenses plus purchasing a canopy bed that cost ¥6 million i.e $54000 when converted to dollars.

Mark Karpeles is further charged for spending millions of yen on his arrangement of overseas trips for his estranged wife and also spending on utility bills, cleaning services, all in his exotic apartment.

What Has Happened To Mt. Gox?

The Cryptocurrency exchange; Mt. Gox was closed down far back in 2014 after about 850000 Bitcoin virtual currencies that were worth a calculated ¥48 billion back then disappeared.

The coins were nowhere to be found from the digital vault that it was kept in. The disappearance is still an unsolved mystery.

This issue left a long trail of bitter yet angry investors, it shook the Cryptocurrency sphere and stained the confidence of bitcoin’s security.

There was a time when Mt. Gox was handled about eighty percent of all universal Bitcoin transactions. Thus, this failure of the exchange led to a dramatic crash in bitcoin’s value.

However, Bitcoin managed to rally to surge higher to more than ¥2 million in 2017 before its sharp drop.

Meanwhile, Japan issued some regulations after the incident but Coincheck exchange had to refund users their cash of ¥46.6 billion in Cryptocurrency forcefully that got missing from its holdings.

The Trial

As the trial commences, Mark Karpeles apologized to users for the organization’s bankruptcy issue but denied his embezzlement issue plus the fake data. He went on to swear that he is not guilty.

Also, he claims that the Cryptocurrency got lost because of an external hacking problem and that he later found 200000 of the coins in a cold wallet. He told the judges that they have to find the real criminals.

For the chief attorney of Mizuho Chuo law firm, it is an issue of if an external hacker stole the Cryptocurrencies. However, it will be taken up as embezzlement if Mark stole just a little part of the money.

Mark will get a jail term if found guilty according to the chief attorney. Meanwhile, the odds are arranged against Mark as a wide majority of cases that make their way to trial in Japan always end up in a convection.

To Wrap It Up

Mark Karpeles has been voicing out his doubts about Bitcoin. Also, he has been replying media questions concerning the condition of the Japanese detention facilities.

Nonetheless, he has refused to comment on his case. The court will be passing a verdict on Friday. If Karpeles is found guilty, his sentence will be made known on the same Friday. Although, he has the right to an appeal even if he loses the case.