According to the project on the study of organized crime and corruption (OCCRP), the founders of the Bankera Lithuanian financial company were outlined by funds raised during the primary proposal of coins (ICO), held in 2018.

OCCRP researchers say, referring to the leakage of internal documents Bankera and bank statements, that the founders of Banker Vitaoutas Karalevičius, Yustas Dobiliauskas and Mantas Motzavichiyes (Mantas Mockevičius) assigned client funds. Almost half of the involved 100 million euros ($ 114 million) went to the acquisition of the Pacific Private Bank Bank, registered in the Pacific state of Vanuatu. Then the founders of Bankera approved large unsecured loans to companies under their management.

Instead of supporting banking initiatives, Bankera management laundered money through the purchase of elite real estate in different countries, OCCRP said. Among the largest purchases was a villa worth 2.5 million euros near the resort of Saint-Tropez on the Cote d’Azur in France. It is assumed that the founders of Bankera could buy several apartments and commercial real estate in Lithuania – using dummies.

One such building in Vilnius, worth more than 1 million euros, was restored and leased to technological startups and trading boutiques. However, the founders of Bankera used the income for their own needs, and did not send BNK tokens to the holders.

The OCCRP report also refers to the purchase of a mansion in Switzerland, as well as investments in a project for real estate development in the UAE. Additional funds were used to purchase a park of sports cars registered for affiliated companies.

The lawyers of Karalevichusyus, Modiluskas and Motskyavicius claim that all the financial activities of Bankera were legally conducted and was aimed at developing the project ecosystem. However, they did not comment on real estate transactions submitted in the OCCRP report.

Bankera positioned itself as the Bank of the Blockchain era, promising weekly tokens BNK tokens. Some investors argue that over time, these payments were significantly reduced, and in 2022, the income distribution program was completely closed. In addition, the promise of Bankera was not fulfilled by the Bank License of the European Union.

In 2018, the Central Bank of Lithuania began to investigate Banker, saying that BNK tokens are unregistered securities. Bankera still continues to engage in cryptobanking and is present in the Linkedin business social network.