Original author: DecryptMedia & NBSP; Translator: 0 x 5

Original title: Crypto Capital's dark history and status in the world of COINS

The dark history of Crypto Capital and its connections to the various characters in cryptocurrency circles.

Crypto Capital works closely with institutions involved in financial crime, money laundering, and digital security fraud, as well as major cryptocurrency exchanges.

Crypto Capital is on the rise as a "central bank" for the digital cryptocurrency industry. It provides "banking" from the port level in the encryption industry. One of the ports is represented by large cryptocurrency companies and exchanges, including safe, Kraken and BitMEX, while the other is represented by QuadrigaCX (now defunct), a series of small companies involved in financial fraud and money laundering.

Crypto Capital also provides financial services to cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, managing more than $1 billion in wealth for the exchange's clients and client funds by the end of 2018, according to the New York attorney general.

On Tuesday, two people reportedly connected to Crypto Capital were charged with money laundering. Federal officials said the two men provided banking services to cryptocurrency companies, including a company called Global Trading Solutions LLC, which has been identified as one of the shell companies Crypto Capital owns. The owner is Crypto Capital, but the user is Bitfinex. This particular "banking service" was described by prosecutors as "operating a shadow bank, representing a vast number of cryptocurrency exchanges, providing unregulated financial transactions involving hundreds of millions of dollars".

"Crypto Capital, a Panamanian company that escaped regulation, has provided banking services to cryptocurrency companies around the world for many years without any formal license," the complaint added.

Where does Crypto Capital come from? Who is behind the scenes?

The first story:

The original idea for Crypto Capital appeared in a Reddit post by Bitfan2013 six years ago. According to Mathias Gr nneb k, CEO of Braveno, an open source financial infrastructure company, Gr nneb k was so fascinated by this mysterious company last year that he began a series of investigations.

Gr nneb k says the first clue to the investigation came in a Reddit post called Bitfan2013 in May 2013. The mysterious netizen behind the Internet claimed that he (and his family) had board seats at four small and medium Banks, and then he came up with his own vision: bitcoin users, miners, traders, programmers, it's time to get moving! It's time to build a real, authoritative bank from scratch! This bank is just for cryptocurrency.

The article even suggests a more specific site: panama. This place is a tax haven for offshore companies.

A month after the post, Crypto Capital (then known as Crypto Financial) was founded in panama. In August, it started the IPO process, raising 30,000 bitcoins (about $300,000) through Havelock Investments, a financial services firm also based in panama.

Havelock specializes in dealing with bitcoin-related ipos and also offers its own share sale fund at bitcoin exchange MPEx, which is directly linked to Erik Voorhee's Satoshi Dice, a popular bitcoin-dominated gambling site in cryptography circles.

After that, the SEC determined that Satoshi Dice & NBSP; Voohees paid a fine of $35,000 and promised not to trade in securities for another five years.

Havelock Investments, which also operates ipos for bitcoin startup Neo and Bee, was investigated by Cypriot police for alleged commercial fraud in 2014. The company's founder, Danny Brewster, fled, reportedly taking 140 bitcoins with him, and has not been charged since.

In October 2015, Havelock Investments also announced that Coinapult, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Voorhees, had merged with Crypto Capital, which means that Havelock Investments has been growing its tentacles and maintaining partnerships with financial service providers.

In an exclusive interview with Decrypt media, Voorhees said he met with Stephen king about six years ago in panama. One of Crpto Capital's six key roles. He added: if it hadn't been for the Coinapult exchange working with Crypto Capital, he probably wouldn't have known about Cryoto Capital, let alone such a meeting. He also said he had nothing to do with Havelock Investments.

Crypto Capital was later acquired by a Swiss company, Global Trade Solutions, which started out as a management consulting firm. In November 2018, the company's registration documents featured an "acting director," a figurehead often hired to represent a shell company: Ivan Manuel Molina Lee. We will see this person's name more often in the following articles.

Fill the gap in banking services

In the growing world of cryptocurrencies,Cryoto Capital meets a particular appeal: it provides banking for cryptocurrency companies at a time when traditional Banks are dodging them like the plague.It quickly rose to prominence, and although it has no specific registered address on its website and is completely anonymous, it has become well known in the cryptocurrency world. More to the point: it's not just gray area cryptographic companies, or fraudsters and the like, that are becoming users.

For example:Kraken, a San Francisco exchange known for its credibility, also USES Crypto Capital.But Christina Lee, the exchange's chief branding officer, told Decrypt in an exclusive interview that they had broken off the relationship in early 2017. In the same way,Wei Zhou, CFO of cion, also told Decrypt that his exchange had been using Crypto Capital's banking services for some time

Bitfinex chief adviser Stuart Hoegner respond to the New York attorney general launched so when involved in the investigation of Bitfinex responded: "in the process of encryption industry development, a large number of companies and virtual currency exchange in how to recognize and maintain the traditional banking business relations, encountered challenges. And its emergence, really meet the needs of everyone, had fallen on his feet."

But Crypto Capital is also literally in the dirtiest corner of the cryptographic world, involved in at least one major scandal.

QuadrigaCX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is now notorious for being Crypto Capital's most valuable customer.You can still find the company on Crypto Capital's website. Once, the Canadian exchange closed its doors after the mysterious death of its CEO. According to previous chats, the exchange is using Crypto Capital to manage clients' money.

Crypto Capital's behind-the-scenes operator

Crypto Capital behind the trader will be hidden deep, the real identity protection is very good. On its website, you can't see the names of any of the team members, let alone figure out who actually runs the company. Anyone looking for a clue ends up ina dead end, only to be led to the fact that the company is run by a front director, Ivan Manuel Molina Lee.

The complaint, filed by the New York attorney general, included a chat from Merlin, a representative of Bitfinex, and Oz, a representative of Crypto Capital. Voorhees, also speaking to Decrypt, said he did meet Oz six years ago, but could not recall the last name or any more personal details.

What makes the information about Oz's mysterious character even more interesting is another clue. The source, who once worked with Crypto Capital and now wants his identity removed, reveals to Decrypt that this OZ is actually Ozzie Joseph, which sounds like OZ Yosef itself. He is a director of OZ49 corexport, a Panamanian shell company. Also on the company's board of directors is the familiar Crypto & cake; Front director of Capital: Ivan Manuel Molina Lee.

Oz Yosef himself is rumored to be pictured

Crypto Capital's trouble

Crypto Capital works in a very simple way. Set up a shell company, get a bank account, until the account is closed, then go get another account. Phil Potter, Bitfinex's chief strategy officer, describes the practice as "the cat-and-mouse game that everyone in the bitcoin community knows."

A strategy that works until the day it doesn't.

In fact,Crypto Capital has been linked to companies in the money-laundering business. For example:

Since May 2015, bitcoin exchange Safello has been engaged in money laundering business with Crypto Capital. According to CEO Frank Schuil, at the end of 2017, they discontinued their business due to the slow feedback speed of Crypto Capital and the declining service quality.

And in the past few years, many forums and websites have been exposed Crypto Capital above cash difficulties, Crypto Capital is deeply involved in these negative news.

More recently, Alex Hanin, a former chief architect at QuadrigaCX, denounced his exchange's cash withdrawals in Crypto Capital. He said one of the funds was frozen in Crypto Capital's Taiwan account. There is no word yet on whether the money will be released.

In an indictment filed last week by the New York attorney general, it was alleged that Bitfinex's parent company, iFinex, had an invisible financial black hole in its books, amounting to $850m. The money was also withheld by Crypto Capital. Bitfinex later denied that Crypto Capital had taken the money, saying it had been seized by the U.S. government and other relevant agencies.

After the attorney general announced an investigation into iFinex and questions related to Crypto Capital, the southern district of New York also filed charges against two suspects behind Crypto Capital. All this, it seems, is just the beginning. The industry's success is tied to the infrastructure services provided by companies such as Crypto Capital. Now, these financial services, once the cornerstone of the economy, are teetering on the edge of one cloud after another.

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