Things are going from bad to worse for some users of the collapsed crypto exchange Cryptopia – after a blunder from New Zealand court employees saw an “unauthorized third party” gain access to “sensitive” client information, with fears that a group of opportunists is already attempting to exploit users still waiting to reclaim their crypto from accounts on the defunct platform.
In an official release from the New Zealand branch of the accountancy firm Grant Thornton – the firm charged with liquidating Cryptopia’s assets – wrote,
“We are concerned that this third party may attempt to use it to mislead and influence account holders’ decision making. We have taken steps to restrain the misuse of this confidential information and to recover it from the third party.”
Grant Thornton named the group as “Cryptopia Rescue and a New Zealand company.”
The liquidator added that Cryptopia Rescue wants to convince Cryptopia customers to hand over power of attorney to it, and stated that Grant Thornton “will not abide by the judgment” of Justice David Gendall, who is presiding over the case at the High Court in Christchurch.
Grant Thornton insisted that this would not be the case, and added that “court directions require that repatriation of customer holdings is to be in crypto where possible.”
It added,
