Mark Karpeles, the CEO of the failed bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, has pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to fund embezzlement charges, as reported by Reuters.
The trial started on July 11 at the Tokyo District Court.
The now defunct exchange Mt Gox was once one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, accounting for 80% of bitcoin trading volume. However, in what could be touted as one of the largest heist in history, nearly half-billion dollars worth of bitcoins disappeared from Karpeles' exchange and it filed for bankruptcy in 2014. In its bankruptcy filing, the exchange cited software security flaw as the reason behind the lost bitcoins.
Karpeles was arrested in August 2015. He was indicted for embezzlement of nearly $3 million in customer deposits to his own account in late 2013.
In the opening statement to the district court, Karpeles’ defense team did not argue the transfers that were made, but said that they did not amount to embezzlement.
"I swear to God that I am innocent," he said in Japanese to the three-judge panel hearing his case, as quoted by Reuters.
Karpeles has denied the allegations levelled against him all along. He had said earlier, “A lot of people seem to think that someone at Mt. Gox was evil. I know that I didn't steal anything. I mean, if I had, like, $650 million in bitcoin, or even a fraction of this, I wouldn't be here."
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