The Canadian Province of British Columbia is attempting to use Michael Patryn, co-founder of QuadrigaCX, as a target for an unexplained wealth order, a novel form of court order that requires an individual to provide an explanation for how they obtained their riches.
Mike Farnworth, the province’s minister of public safety and solicitor general, said in a statement, “Today, we have filed our third unexplained wealth order application with the British Columbia Supreme Court.” “Thousands of people lost their life savings as a result of QuadrigaCX’s international criminal actions.”
The order was utilised to take control of an account and a safety deposit box at CIBC Bank. Gold bars, two Rolex watches, a Chanel J12 Black Diamond watch, C$250,200 ($184,250) in cash, and other jewellery were all found inside the safety deposit box. Identity documents bearing the names of Omar Dhanani and Omar Patryn were discovered in the package, along with a 45-caliber Ruger 1911 revolver and ammo, according to the Order.
The Order justifies the seizure of items by claiming that Patryn was intimately involved in every facet of QuadrigaCX’s operations, including the misappropriation of consumer cash and bitcoin. The next stage is to get Patryn to respond and explain his fortune after the seizure.
He contested the ruling in a filed response, claiming the seized items were not obtained illegally.
“As per the Charter (Canada’s constitution), the Defendants’ rights were violated during the investigation and the way the evidence was obtained during the investigation,” Patryn’s attorney wrote.
As a result of having to explain the source of money instead of the recipient, some targets of B.C.’s unexplained wealth orders have contended in court that the orders are unconstitutional.
As “Sifu,” Patryn has pursued a second profession in decentralised finance (DeFi), participating in several protocols such as Wonderland and UwU Lend. Thailand is thought to be Patryn’s home.
Following a doxxing campaign by members of the community, Patryn was removed from his position as Wonderland treasurer with 87.56% of the vote.
To submit the application, prosecutors are scheduled to appear in court on April 30. Following the conclusion of the QuadrigaCX bankruptcy in May, claimants received 13 cents on the dollar.