Celsius eyes merge of entities as creditors claim distinctions were a ‘sham’
Defunct crypto lender Celsius Network is looking to combine its United Kingdom and United States entities as new court filings allege that any supposed distinction between the two companies was a “sham.”
The central point of dispute is focused on a decision made by the crypto lender in June 2021, when Celsius Network Limited (CNL) was issued with a warning to cease operations in the U.K. from the country’s Financial Conduct Authority.
To avoid fallout, CNL set up a Limited Liability Company — Celsius Network LLC — in the state of Delaware and looked to transfer its assets to the new company.
1) #Celsius left UK as they were offering illegal securities & were getting pressure from UK Securities Regulator (FCA). Yes securities laws exist outside US. pic.twitter.com/2bu3uJq9Fr
According to a May 1 court filing from the now-bankrupt crypto firm, the migration of the two entities “resulted in intercompany chaos.” The filing adds that formal documentation of the intercompany relationship was “not completed for several months” and when it was “it remained ambiguous” what transactions the agreements affected.
The filing claims that for everyday investors the result of this transfer was too confusing to make sense of, however, the more “sophisticated” Series B investors were well aware of the implications of such dubious record keeping.
As a result, the two entities should be treated as one and the same in subsequent bankruptcy proceedings, so that smaller creditors are not ignored in favor of Series B investors when it comes to the recovery and return of lost funds.
According to a corresponding court filing from the Celsius Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC), the migration was a “sham” and the transactions that
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