EY Says It Is 'Aware' of 'Unauthorized' Quadriga Wallet Transfers

Ernst & Young said it has "become aware" that bitcoin (BTC) that'd been sitting QuadrigaCX's cold wallets has been moved elsewhere, according to a statement Tuesday.

The company, which is acting as the bankruptcy trustee for the defunct Canadian trading platform, made the announcement four days after more than 100 BTC moved out of the wallets, which the company said Quadriga did not have access to. CoinDesk reported on Monday that EY had not initiated the transactions, which EY confirmed in its Tuesday statement.

"Ernst & Young Inc. acting in its capacity as court appointed Monitor and subsequently as Trustee in Bankruptcy worked with management and others to recover the bitcoin transferred to these wallets," the statement said. "However, the private keys associated with the cold wallets have not been located despite the detailed review."

Read more: Bitcoin Addresses Tied to Defunct Canadian Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX Wake Up

Miller Thomson, the Canadian law firm acting as the representative counsel for Quadriga's creditors, published a similar statement on its own website.

EY first announced in early February 2019 that it had "inadvertently" sent the bitcoin to the wallets, which it was not able to access at the time.

"The Trustee and Representative Counsel are actively investigating the unauthorized transfers for the benefit of the Estate," Miller Thomson's statement said.

In addition to five addresses first identified by CoinDesk in 2019, EY listed a sixth address, which does not appear to have seen any activity since 2018, well before Quadriga collapsed.