First Crypto Fraud Case in Australia Involving $800K in Stolen Assets Filed to Federal Court

An Australian cryptocurrency company is being sued in federal court for fraud in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.

According to a report by ABC News on Sunday, French national Alexandre Raffin, 28, has brought a compensation claim against crypto company Modern Assets Australia for an alleged breach in duty of care.

Raffin claims Modern Assets and its directors, Jonathan Allison and Carlo Sciubba, failed in their obligation to him as an intermediary in facilitating an exchange of cash for a South Korean cryptocurrency called Klaytn.

It is alleged Modern Assets was meant to provide Raffin with the cryptocurrency but when the deal fell through the crypto company put Raffin in touch with a seller directly. Sometime later, the seller made off with Raffin’s cash and disappeared.

Under the terms of the deal, the seller was to provide 937,500 units of the cryptocurrency for around A$93,000 (US$71,000), which in today’s valuation places it at roughly $3.7 million (US$2.8 million), according to the report.

See also: Australian Man Arrested for Trying to Launder $4.3M With Bitcoin

The French national is accusing Modern Assets of failing to perform the necessary research required before connecting him with the mysterious seller. As such, Raffin is seeking compensation for the loss of funds plus $800,000 – the value the cryptocurrency would have been worth last year.

Modern Assets has since refunded its commission fees, Raffin says, while the matter awaits resolution in the Australian Federal Court.