The former CEO of collapsed Australian cryptocurrency exchange Mine Digital, Grant Colthup, has been charged with fraud after an investigation by the corporate regulator found a customer did not receive millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin they had paid for.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges a customer paid $2.2 million to ACCE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Mine Digital, for Bitcoin in July 2022.
Bitcoin was trading for around $30,000 per coin at the time of the transaction with Mine Digital, according to historical price data.
The cryptocurrency is now trading at around $100,000 per Bitcoin.
As the customer did not receive the cryptocurrency they paid for, ASIC has alleged Colthup used the funds to “purchase cryptocurrency for others” and fund the liabilities of ACCE, which entered administration in September 2022.
Colthup appeared in the Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday charged with one count of fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment under Queensland's Criminal Code.
The matter was adjourned until 16 December.
Colthup could not be reached for comment, with his previous email address and phone number now disconnected and his profile removed from LinkedIn.
Liquidator chasing millions
ASIC’s claim is the latest allegation against ACCE Australia, which began offering cryptocurrency trading services as Mine Digital in May 2019.
The company entered administration on 23 September 2022, before insolvency specialist Brad Tonks of PKF was appointed its liquidator on 1 December of that year.
The Australian Financial Review reported in late 2022 that Tonks had identified only $20,000 worth of assets belonging to ACCE, despite creditors claiming around $16 million from the company.
ACCE Australia (trading as Mine Digital) entered administration in September 2022. Image: Mine Digital / X
Creditors were told Mine Digital may have failed to record some transactions made in Colthup’s name and may have transferred “significant digital assets" out of the company, according to reporting by the AFR.
In January 2023, the same masthead reported Tonks had applied to freeze Colthup’s assets and asked the Federal Court of Australia to make the former CEO pay compensation.
Tonks told Information Age that ACCE’s liquidation was “an ongoing process” and he could not comment on the charge against Colthup.
According to ASIC records, the latest meeting between liquidator PKF and the committee of ACCE creditors occurred in January 2024.
Colthup previously said Mine Digital would “set a new standard in the Australian cryptocurrency market”, according to a press release from the company’s crypto launch.
He had previously held positions with Macquarie Bank and insurance company IAG, according to the release.
Colthup was also previously a board member of Blockchain Australia, which has since rebranded as the Digital Economy Council of Australia.
