Hodder: ‘Head of Celsius should be prosecuted’

The founder of the law firm Hodder believes that since the head of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, did not provide full information about the costs during the bankruptcy, he should be held accountable.

During an interview with First Mover, Sasha Hodder stated that Alex Mashinsky’s actions were not “transparent”. Hodder believes that the US trustee overseeing the Celsius bankruptcy has the right to seek an independent expert because Mashinsky did not provide complete information.

“Lenders are “frustrated that Celsius is burning money very quickly. At the same time, no one was able to get direct information from the Celsius CEO about how much they actually owe creditors,” Hodder noted.

If the trustee gets approval to appoint an independent expert, it is likely that a list of the company’s debts will become available, she said. At the moment, only 10 of the 50 largest debtors are known.

Some experts say there were warning signs even before Celsius filed for bankruptcy. In April, as the market began to crash, the company asked its clients to increase their bitcoin holdings in case it had to use them as collateral.

“It discouraged ordinary investors,” Hodder said. “If Mashinsky is brought to criminal responsibility, the investigation of this criminal case may show that the creditors were lied to.”

She stressed that until the financial details are clear, Celsius should not only be more transparent, but also “stop spending exorbitant funds every day, lay off all staff and suspend operations.”

The US trustee recently filed a motion with the court to bring in additional experts to provide greater transparency in the Celsius case.