Digital Asset Exchange trades under the name Dasset.
Photo: Lev Dolgachov/ 123rf
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into the multi-million-dollar collapse of a local cryptocurrency trading platform.
Digital Asset Exchange, which traded under the name Dasset, was placed into liquidation in August last year with $6.3 million in unaccounted investments.
The SFO asked anyone with relevant information to get in touch but declined to comment further.
Stephen Macaskill.
Photo: Supplied / Linkedin
A report by liquidators at accounting firm Grant Thornton last December said they had secured $600,000 in assets, including cryptocurrencies, but had been unable to find the unaccounted funds of around 5,000 investors.
"The recorded assets held by the company were less than 10 per cent of the reported user and creditor balances on the liquidation date. Accordingly, it is expected that, unless further recoveries can be identified, any funds available to be reimbursed to users or creditors will be minimal," said the liquidators' report.
The report said liquidators had been in contact with an offshore exchange to try to trace investments, but their efforts had been "hampered" by being unable to contact Dasset's chief executive and largest shareholder, Steve Macaskill.
Dasset provided a trading platform for investors to trade a wide range of cryptocurrencies in New Zealand dollars.
