The worsening situation at Mt.Gox has caught the attention of the US Attorney’s office in New York. According to a story published in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, the federal prosecutors sent a subpoena to Mt.Gox asking the exchange to “preserve certain documents among other things.” While the US Attorney’s office has declined to comment about the subpoena, this is consistent with rumors that Mt.Gox is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, authorities in Japan appear to be looking into the situation at Mt.Gox as well. According to a Reuters story published this morning, Japan’s Finance Ministry, police and other government bodies are “gathering information” about the Tokyo-based exchange.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency and Finance Ministry have repeatedly confirmed that they have no jurisdiction over Mt.Gox or Bitcoin, although the company is potentially vulnerable to criminal prosecution for charges of fraud or money laundering. Speaking with reporters at a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to comment further on the Mt.Gox situation.
True to form, there has been no word on either matter from Mt.Gox. A statement released today on the Mt.Gox website from CEO Mark Karpeles did request that “people refrain from asking questions to our staff,” but there was no indication that this was related to the possible investigations.
