Alex Mashinsky, former chief executive and co-founder of bankrupt Celsius Network, and two other top executives at the company withdrew $41.8 million worth of cryptocurrencies less than a month before blocking investors from withdrawing their funds from the currency lending platform, according to crypto news site CoinDesk.
Mr Mashinsky and co-founders Daniel Leon and Nuke Goldstein withdrew digital tokens including Bitcoin, Ether and Celsius (CEL) from their custodian accounts in May and June this year, CoinDesk reported, citing a Statement of Financial Affairs document filed by law firm Kirkland & Ellis in the Southern District Court of New York on Wednesday.
Watch: What is Bitcoin and how did it start
“Mashinsky withdrew about $10m in cryptocurrency in May 2022. Leon withdrew about $7m (and an additional $4m worth of CEL denoted as 'collateral') between May 27 and May 31,” CoinDesk said.
“Goldstein withdrew around $13m (and an additional $7.8m worth of CEL also denoted 'collateral').”
On June 13, Celsius Network froze all withdrawals and transfers between accounts, citing “extreme market conditions” after a prolonged fall in cryptocurrency prices that was exacerbated by the collapse in May of so-called stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister token Luna.
In June, Bitcoin dropped below the key $20,000 level for the first time since December 2020, while about $2 trillion has been wiped from the market value of cryptocurrencies since late last year, according to data compiled by CoinGecko.
On July 13, Celsius Networks initiated Chapter 11 proceedings in an effort to stabilise its business, the company said in a statement.
“This is the right decision for our community and company,” Mr Mashinsky said at the time.
“I am confident that when we look back at the history of Celsius, we will see this as a defining moment, where acting with resolve and confidence served the community and strengthened the future of the company.”
Hundreds of investors in Celsius have written to Judge Martin Glenn, who is overseeing the bankruptcy case, to beg for his help in getting their money back.
Many have lost their life savings and cannot afford to pay rent or mortgages, according to the letters submitted to Judge Glenn.
One investor from the UK said he made his last deposit of $10,000 on June 8, which was accepted by Celsius “even though they clearly knew they were about to block withdrawals on June 13, 2022".
“So why keep allowing deposits? This, in my opinion, is indeed an act of fraud,” Alexander Simmons wrote in his letter to the judge.
Launched in 2017, Celsius Network was considered a major player in the cryptocurrency lending sector with 1.7 million customers from around the world, including the US, the UK, France, South Korea and Australia.
It offered high interest-bearing products of up to 18 per cent to customers who deposited their cryptocurrency with the company and also lent cryptocurrencies for investors to earn a return.
In the bankruptcy filing, Celsius disclosed that it has a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet, with $5.5bn of liabilities against $4.3bn of assets, Bloomberg reported.
Celsius Network’s total assets plummeted from $22.1bn to $4.3bn — a drop of $17.8bn — between March 30 and July 14, while it owes investors about $4.7bn, the company said in the filing.
Mr Mashinsky resigned from Celsius last week and Mr Leon stood down from his position as chief strategy officer on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.
Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
WE%20NO%20LONGER%20PREFER%20MOUNTAINS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Inas%20Halabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENijmeh%20Hamdan%2C%20Kamal%20Kayouf%2C%20Sheikh%20Najib%20Alou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
