According to a Japanese news agency Jiji Press, prosecutors have gone ahead with charges against Mark Karpeles, who was the head of now-defunct Bitcoin Exchange MtGox. Karpeles has been charged with embezzlement. Currently, under arrest with the Japanese police, he can request a release while he awaits trial.
The confirmation comes at a time when Karpeles is already facing charges over fraud related to disappearing money because of manipulated figures on the exchange.
The Charges Leveled
Although the charges have not been confirmed, the media has gone into a frenzy reporting about it since Karpeles was arrested by the police in Tokyo in August. We are not sure if this indictment was linked to all the money that went missing or only a part of it. The former head had been in police custody for six weeks despite any formal charges being laid against him. He had been initially charged with data tinkering and fund transfers to various firms that he had controlled between the years 2011 and 2013.
Wrapping Up
MtGox froze all his withdrawals in the earlier part of 2014. The Bitcoin exchange used to handle about 80 percent of all Bitcoin transactions globally at one point of time but has now filed for bankruptcy protection.
