The OCCRP reports Bankera’s founders channeled around half of the $114 million the firm raised in its 2018 ICO to a Vanuatu bank to buy real estate in France and Lithuania.
The founders of the crypto fintech firm Bankera used funds from the project’s 2018 initial coin offering to purchase luxury properties worldwide, according to a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
The OCCRP reported on April 28, citing leaked company records and bank statements, that nearly half of the funds from Bankera’s 100 million euro ($114 million) ICO were transferred to a bank in the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu that was purchased by the project’s founders, Vytautas Karalevičius, Justas Dobiliauskas and Mantas Mockevičius.
Soon after, the Vanuatu bank reportedly began issuing millions of euros in loans to companies owned by the trio to build a luxury real estate portfolio — including a villa in the French Riviera and high-end property in Lithuania, where the project was founded.
The leaked records and statements reportedly show that the funds were used to underwrite loans to other companies, which were then used to purchase high-end real estate.
The Vanuatu bank also loaned millions more directly to the three founders for “personal use,” according to the OCCRP report.
Lawyers representing the founders reportedly denied that the ICO was fraudulent but declined to comment on specific transactions.
Cointelegraph contacted Bankera for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Bankera over-promised, under-delivered
Bankera pledged to become the “bank for the blockchain era,” offering a suite of retail and institutional investment services while holding and exchanging most of the largest cryptocurrencies.
Many investors were attracted to the Bankera (BNK) token ICO by the promise of discounted rates on Bankera’s services and products, along with the opportunity to earn weekly BNK payouts.
However, an investor in Bankera’s ICO told the OCCRP that those weekly payouts began to “drop significantly below the promised amount.”
The revenue-sharing scheme was reportedly halted in 2022.
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Bankera also reportedly promised to obtain a European Union banking license, which is yet to materialize.
Despite the 100 million euro ICO raise, the fully diluted value of the BNK token is currently at $975,710, CoinGecko data shows.
Bankera continues to provide crypto-related banking services and maintains an active social media presence on LinkedIn and, to a lesser extent, X.
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Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea