April 9 (Cointime) - Paxful CEO Ray Youssef has provided an update on the ongoing legal dispute involving frozen user funds. Youssef announced his intent to create a plan with the court to reimburse users from his personal finances. He emphasized his commitment to prioritizing user funds, despite the risk of being held in contempt of court.
I know that if this is not done by myself then these users will fall thru the cracks and never be made whole. This is why I am taking this risk. Must separate the list into the ok and “bad” buckets as I cannot be giving money to terrorists or money launderers. Patience please.
— Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) April 6, 2023
On April 4, Paxful, a peer-to-peer marketplace for trading Bitcoin, Tether (USDT), and USDC, unexpectedly declared the immediate suspension of its platform. The sudden closure may have been a result of a bitter dispute between Paxful's co-founders, Artur Schaback and Mohamad (Ray) Youssef, in Delaware's courts.
The co-founders, who started Paxful in 2015 with a shared passion for Bitcoin, are now litigating the company's control, with several accusations against each other, according to court documents. The allegations include misappropriation of company funds, money laundering, and evasion of United States sanctions against Russia, among others.
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