Report: Zug Court Shuts Down Swiss Off-Grid Mining Firm Envion AG

This article has corrected misinformation about the claim filing procedure for investors in Envion in the case of liquidation. Our editorial team would like to apologize for the error.

The cantonal court of Zug, Switzerland has shut down cryptocurrency mining firm Envion AG for an alleged unauthorized Initial Coin Offering (ICO), German news outlet Handelsblatt Global reported Nov. 28.

Envion was established in Switzerland by Michael Luckow and Matthias Woestmann as an off-grid mining company that claims to use decentralized, clean energy like hydroelectric and solar to power its mobile mining units. Envion reportedly raised around $100 million through an ICO conducted in mid-January of this year.

However, the project eventually turned into a fight between the two partners as Woestmann accused Luckow of producing more tokens than had been initially suggested. Woestmann subsequently conceived a capital increase that reduced Luckow’s share. The dispute resulted in a court trial.

The cantonal court in Zug has reportedly shut the firm down and ordered its liquidation, while noting the complete absence of any auditing function or board. Woestmann, however, continues to accuse Luckow of not providing relevant information about the ICO, while Luckow reportedly states that Woestmann has always intended to push the company into liquidation.

Although Luckow will purportedly try to continue fighting for the firm in a bid to save the original concept, financial supervisors have reportedly appointed an investigator to ensure the liquidation is “unavoidable.”

No announcements have been made as of yet for a claims procedure for investors in the case of liquidation. Liquidations are officially announced through the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC), which provides information about how claims should be filed.

The initial investigation into Envion’s ICO by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) began in July. FINMA’s investigation into the case found that, during its ICO, Envion accepted approximately 100 million francs (around $100.01 million at the time) from over 30,000 investors in return for issuing Envion’s native tokens (EVN), “in a bond-like form.”

The investigation focused on “possible breaches of banking law resulting from the potentially unauthorized acceptance of public deposits” during the token sale.

At press time, EVN token has seen a 186 percent increase in price over the day, and is trading around $0.08, according to CoinMarketCap. The token’s market capitalization is around $8.9 million, while its daily trading volume is around $12,000 as of press time.