A clearer picture is emerging of the young CEO at the centre of the mysterious demise of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, who died while on a visit to India, a Canadian media report said Friday.
Gerald Cotten, a Nova Scotia resident originally from Ontario died suddenly while in Rajasthan on December 9, leaving his virtual company, QuadrigaCX, without access to USD 145 million in Bitcoins and other digital assets.
His widow, Jennifer Robertson, has said in court documents that Cotten, 30, was the only person with access to his laptop, which is thought to contain the digital keys to the so-called cold wallets containing the missing cryptocurrency.
The circumstances surrounding Cotten's death and the way he conducted his business from the couple's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia has led to a flurry of speculation and allegations in internet chat rooms, The Canadian Press reported.
It said some former QuadrigaCX users have come forward to raise questions about the 250 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrency owed to 115,000 of them.
Cotten signed his will on November 27, 2018 less than two weeks before he died at a private hospital in Jaipur, the report noted.
In an application to probate the will, filed on December 21, 2018, Robertson confirmed that the gross value of Cotten's personal property all of which was left to her was 9.6 million dollars. She was granted the right to administer his estate as executor on January 2, the report said.
The will specifically states that Robertson was authorised to access his digital assets and "obtain, access, modify, delete and control (his) passwords and other electronic credentials."
In her affidavit, Robertson says she has been subjected to online threats, slanderous comments and speculation about Cotten's death, "including whether he is really dead."
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