Mark Karpeles ex Mt Gox CEO arrested In Japan

Technical geek, Mark Karpeles 30, bitcoin exchange Mt Gox CEO arrested in Japan. The Frenchman is being held in connection with the loss of bitocins worth  $319m £247million in February 2013.

Mr karpeles is accused of having accessed the exchange’s computer system in February 2013 to allegedly falsify data on its outstanding balance.  MtGox claimed it was a bug, but later filed for bankruptcy.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police said that Karpeles was facing criminal charges for fraud and embezzlement, and comes more than a year after Mt Gox first filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Japan.

Mr Karpeles lawyer has said he denies any wrongdoing, according to Kyodo News.

After filing for bankruptcy in February 2014, Mt Gox said 750,000 customer bit coins and another 100,000 belonging to the exchange were stolen due to software security flaw.

If found guilty, Karpeles could face up to  5 years in prison and could be fined upto  500, 000 yen (£2, 650).

Karpeles however, had in the past blamed hackers for the loss.

Last March, Mt Gox said it found 200,000 lost bitcoins worth £75.4million $116 million, in an old digital wallet from 2011. The total number of bitcoins the firm lost could be as high as 650,000.