Did Mt.Gox pay its parent company, Tibanne K.K., roughly $200,000 in fees for “services rendered”? According to a document leaked by Mt.Gox tracking website goxdox.org, the failed Tokyo bitcoin exchange moved the funds on May 26, with court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi approving the transfer. While Mt.Gox’s funds are seized pending the results of the bankruptcy proceedings, Tibanne is a separate entity and not subject to the court proceedings.
Given that Tibanne is solely owned by Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles, the payout has been harshly criticized on almost every bitcoin forum. It’s not known what “services” Karpeles rendered to his own sub-company, or how such actions would merit additional payment. That said, the payment may not actually represent a payment to Karpeles personally, but rather a payment for rent and other expenses technically controlled by Tibanne rather than Mt.Gox.
According to the still-unconfirmed document, Mt.Gox also has $7.6 million remaining in its funds, a fraction of the $38 million claimed in the initial bankruptcy filing earlier this year. Just where all of those funds went is unclear, although it is likely that at least some of that money went to settle corporate debts. Mt.Gox’s customers will be the last to receive settlement in the process, which is expected to take several more months, if not years, to fully resolve.
Karpeles will have the opportunity to address these concerns directly at the upcoming creditors meeting on July 23 in Tokyo, which he is expected to attend.
