JAKARTA Nexo, one of the world's largest crypto loan platforms, has been acquitted of all charges of money laundering and sanctions violations in Bulgaria. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Bulgaria announced last week that the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office had ended the legal process against Nexo after finding no evidence of criminal activity.

Nexo is a company that provides loan and deposit services using crypto assets as collateral. Nexo also offers daily interest of up to 12% per year for crypto assets stored on its platform. Nexo claims to have more than 6 million users worldwide and has processed more than $130 billion (approximately IDR 2,005 trillion) of transactions since its founding in 2018.

On September 29 last year, Nexo was the target of an investigation by Bulgarian law enforcement officials over alleged money laundering and sanctions violations. The investigation is based on a report from the Central Bank of Bulgaria (BNB) which considers that Nexo is carrying out banking activities without appropriate permits.

According to an announcement from the Attorney General's Office, the investigation involved interviews with witnesses, analysis of payment account movements, complex forensic reports and evaluations, as well as various investigative actions such as investigations and confiscations. However, after conducting an investigation for almost three months, the supervisory prosecutor team found no evidence of a crime committed by Nexo.

"The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has ended the pre-trial process against Nexo and four other people involved in the organized crime group that was formed to seek profit between 2018 and January 2023," the announcement read.

"There is no evidence of criminal activity related to the implementation of banking activities without appropriate permits. There is no evidence of money laundering collected against the defendant, and there is no evidence of taxation or computer fraud collected," the announcement continued.