Court of Illinois rejects appeal of Mark Karpeles to suspend Mt Gox case in USA

The Court of Illinois State decided to reject the appeal filed by the lawyer of ex-CEO at dead Mt Gox crypto exchange Mark Karpeles regarding the suspension of the case against Karpeles launched in the USA. The lawyer cited the ongoing civil rehabilitation case in Japan Karpeles as a reason for this request.

According to the news reports, the defendant team lodged the petition on February 25 saying that the current civil rehabilitation of the platform in Japan may result in probably 100% refunding of the plaintiffs.

In this situation, Karpeles and his lawyers claim that the class action would not be the right option to settle down the disagreements. 

The plaintiffs in Japan want the court to rule that Karpeles, in fact, is personally responsible for the losses at the exchange. Specifically, the exchange's users failed to get refunding due to the bankruptcy procedure.

Meanwhile, the ex-CEO at Mt Gox noted that the plaintiffs would be fully repaid after the case in Japan given the bitcoin price boom observed since the time of the platform's closure. As a result, he requires suspension of the case in the USA striving to avoid extra expenses.

However, the Judge of Illinois Court ruled on February 28 the petition is dismissed.

Meanwhile, in Japan, Mark Karpeles can get a 10-year sentence for using clients' funds (about $3 million) for his own needs. During the hearing in Tokyo, Karpeles rejected the charges and called himself innocent.