Founder of Blockchain.com, a £5 billion cryptocurrency company, is facing legal prosecution.

Senior executives at Blockchain.com, a £5 billion cryptocurrency company based in London, are facing prosecution for failing to submit the company’s accounts on time.

Companies House summoned the company’s co-founder and president, Nicolas Cary, and operations executive Al Turnbull in May. According to court documents from The Telegraph, the case was heard at Cardiff Magistrates Court on September 25, with a further hearing scheduled for November 26.

Blockchain.com recently filed its accounts for the year ending 2020, while the legal proceedings concern the company’s failure to submit accounts for the year ending December 2022.

Founded in 2011 in York, Blockchain.com was among the earliest digital currency companies and has grown into a leading provider of cryptocurrency wallets and trading services. In November 2023, following a $110 million fundraising round, the company was valued at approximately $7 billion (£5 billion).

Blockchain.com‘s wallets are used by tens of millions worldwide for storing and transferring cryptocurrency, with investors including Baillie Gifford, Google Ventures, and DST Global, owned by billionaire Yuri Milner.

The company is now facing legal issues due to its failure to submit accounts, which could result in an unlimited fine for its directors if convicted. In its 2020 financial statements, Blockchain.com disclosed that its directors had engaged legal advisors and were preparing to contest the charges. The company attributed the delayed filings to a restructuring and a “significant reduction in the wider group’s workforce,” which it said took time to stabilize. The company employs hundreds of staff globally and stated that its directors were taking “appropriate steps to ensure compliance with all statutory filing requirements.”

A Companies House spokesperson confirmed enforcement action was being taken but declined to comment further. Blockchain.com did not respond to requests for comment.

This legal action occurs as Companies House intensifies enforcement against businesses that fail to file their accounts, following concerns about false information, fake companies, and bogus directors on its register. The agency was granted new powers in March to investigate and remove inaccurate data, with a commitment to a more “robust approach.” In September, Martin Swain, Companies House’s director of intelligence, emphasized that if guidance and support fail to ensure compliance, the organization is prepared to use these new powers.

The crackdown comes amid other high-profile cases, such as steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta, who is also facing prosecution for allegedly not filing accounts for over 70 businesses. Gupta and other directors have pleaded not guilty, with a spokesman for his GFG Alliance stating they had taken “all reasonable steps to resolve the situation.”