- QuadrigaCX founder died in 2018 in India with the password to cold wallets
- His widow has accepted to compensate users who lost funds
- Widow says she doesn’t know how Cotton ran his business
The widow of QuadrigaCX founder will surrender at least USD $9 million (CAD $12 million) to EY Canada from their joint assets and her own to compensate the exchange’s users who lost funds when it collapsed.
Done Her Best in Aiding the Recovery
Jennifer Robertson, the widow of QuadrigaCX Founder Gerald Robertson made the announcement in a statement on Monday, October 7, 2019, and stated that since her husband died in December 2018, she has done her best in aiding the recovery of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange’s assets. Gerald Robertson Cotten died from complications of Crohn’s disease while on a honeymoon trip in India. Robertson said in the statement:
“I have agreed to return to QCX assets that I had previously thought were purchased with Gerry’s legitimately earned profits, salary and dividends […] I was upset and disappointed with Gerry’s activities as uncovered by the investigation when I first learned of them, and continue to be as we conclude this settlement.”
QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange made the headlines in January 2019 when it collapsed following the passing away of Cotten in December 2018 leaving at least 76,319 unsecured creditors, representing all QuadrigaCX clients who came forward to claim their assets, totaling $214.6 million.
No Direct Knowledge of Business
Cotten had the sole knowledge of the passwords for the exchange’s cold wallets and took them with him to the grave. However, a forensic investigation showed later that Cotten had transferred his clients’ funds into his personal accounts and those cold wallets were empty, anyway. In the statement released by her lawyer, Jennifer Robertson stated:
“I had no direct knowledge of how Gerry operated the business prior to his death and was not aware of his improper actions […] specifically, I was not aware of nor participated in Gerry’s trading activities, nor his appropriation of the Affected User’s funds.”
As per the statement, Robertson agreed on the settlement offer once following the publication of the auditor’s report on June 2019. The reports further added that Cotten’s widow will publish a sworn statement showing her personal assets and their joint estate over the past five years as part of the settlement. Lawyer Asim Iqbal of Miller Thompson, the court’s appointed representative for the exchange users posted on Telegram that the law firm would not comment on the issue.