A US district judge has rejected a claim by Mizuho Bank that a class action lawsuit related to its relationship with failed bitcoin exchange Mt Gox should be moved to Japan.
Once the largest global bitcoin exchange, Tokyo-based Mt Gox collapsed in 2014, eventually filing for bankruptcy . Since then, the exchange, and its founder and CEO Mark Karpeles, have been embroiled in a lawsuits from customers seeking to recover millions in customer funds that remain unaccounted for.
Mizuho was first named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit brought by former exchange users in March 2014 as it served as Mt Gox’s banking partner, receiving fiat funds deposited by customers into the exchange and held by Mt Gox.
In the latest ruling, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman criticized actions taken by the bank, suggesting it profited from its affiliation with Mt Gox even as it sought to limit the number and amount of customer withdrawals over concerns regarding its liability for deficiencies in the exchange’s business model.
Feinerman wrote: "Mizuho’s qualms about handling Mt. Gox’s business did not extend, however, to receiving fiat currency from Mt. Gox users for deposit into the Mt. Gox account. Even as it limited and then barred withdrawals, Mizuho continued to accept deposits from Mt Gox users, earning revenue from the associated service fees." The ruling goes so far as to allege that Mizuho prevented Mt Gox from telling customers that the bank was the cause of withdrawal issues, or that it was seeking to terminate its relationship with the now-defunct bitcoin exchange.
“Mizuho knew that if Mt Gox’s members learned of its prohibition on withdrawals of fiat currency from Mt Gox’s Mizuho account, members would stop making deposits and Mizuho would stop collecting the associated fees,” Feinerman wrote.
The class action lawsuit alleges that Mizuho "tortiously interfered" […]
