A year after Quadriga CEO’s death, investors want to exhume his body

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Updated on Mar 11, 2020

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The mysterious death of Gerald Cotten continues to trouble former customers of Canada's Quadriga cryptocurrency exchange.
After his death caused by complications regarding Crohn's disease in Jaipur, India, the exchange lost access to $163 million in crypto, as only the CEO could access the wallets.
Now, one year later, investors whose funds were locked away request exhumation and post-mortem autopsy on the body.

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It has been a year since Gerald Cotten, the former CEO of Canadian crypto exchange Quadriga, passed away under ‘questionable circumstances.’ Cotten died on December 12th, 2018, supposedly on his trip to India. However, since he was the only one with access to the exchange’s wallets, as much as $163 million in cryptocurrency remained permanently locked away.

Cotten’s death was confirmed by his widow, Jennifer Robertson, as well as by J.A. Snow Funeral Home, located in Halifax. However, the circumstances of his death have left many investors suspicious. As a result, many of them hired lawyers that are now representing the exchange’s customers, as well as their demand for Cotten’s body to be exhumed.

CEO’s death and Quadriga’s shutdown still causing suspicion

As many might remember, QuadrigaCX officially closed down shop in January of this year, several weeks after Cotten’s death. Meanwhile, over 76,000 users were left without their funds, which remained locked away.

The total that was lost in the exchange’s wallets sits at $163 million (C$215 million). Soon after the CEO’s untimely death, rumors, speculations, and full conspiracy theories started circling around, speculating whether Quadriga’s CEO had actually died.

Scams are all too common in the crypto industry, and many believe that there is a possibility that Cotten may have faked his death in order to disappear with customers’ funds.

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This led to Miller Thomson LLP’s recent letter, which was sent to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The letter requests the exhumation of Cotten’s body, and the post-mortem autopsy in order to confirm his identity and cause of death.

Furthermore, the law firm also delivered some background material, consisting of what is considered ‘publicly available information’ on the exchange’s history, but also on the history of its CEO, and others who were connected to the company in some way. The law firm’s request is for the process to be completed by spring 2020.