TechFlow, April 29 — According to Cointelegraph, the founders of crypto fintech firm Bankera are accused of using funds raised during their 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) to purchase luxury properties worldwide.
Leaked company records and bank statements show that founders Vytautas Karalevičius, Justas Dobiliauskas, and Mantas Mockevičius transferred nearly half of the ICO proceeds—approximately $114 million—to a bank they acquired in Vanuatu. The bank then issued loans to companies owned by the three individuals to acquire high-end real estate along the French Riviera and in Lithuania.
Bankera had promised to become a "bank for the blockchain era" and obtain an EU banking license, but has not achieved this goal. Its planned revenue-sharing program was suspended in 2022. The founders' lawyers deny any fraud related to the ICO but declined to comment on specific transactions.
