Celsius Says ‘Employee’ Hangs Amid Rumors of Israel CFO Arrest

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Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network said on Friday it had suspended an “employee” amid rumors of the arrest of its chief financial officer Yaron Shalem in Israel.

“We were recently informed of a police investigation in Israel involving an employee,” Celsius tweeted. “While in no way related to the employee’s time or work at @CelsiusNetwork, the employee was immediately suspended. We also verified that no assets were misplaced or mishandled.”

The tweet came after The Block contacted Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, confirming Shalem’s arrest. Mashinsky has yet to respond. While the tweet doesn’t say the employee was Shalem, the suspension clearly implies that. CoinDesk confirmed in a report citing anonymous sources that Shalem was arrested in the Hogeg case.

Hogeg, the Israeli crypto entrepreneur behind blockchain smartphone startup Sirin Labs and a host of other crypto startups, was arrested last week on charges of fraud, money laundering and sex offenses. Seven others, along with Hogeg, were arrested on charges of fraud related to cryptocurrency projects.

Shortly after the arrests, rumors began to circulate that Shalem is two of the eight people, as he and Hogeg have worked together in the past at Hogeg’s Singulariteam company. Shalem has also worked at Hogeg’s Mobil company in the past, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Celsius tweet comes two days after a Celsius staff member was questioned Tuesday evening during a “ask me anything” session on Twitter about Shalem’s arrest. The staff member could not confirm or deny the arrest. CEO Mashinsky was also questioned about the arrest, and he said he had no information about the case.

Shalem joined Celsius in March of this year. It is still unclear what charges Shalem was arrested on. Notably, Mashinsky was an advisor to Hogeg’s Sirin Labs as recently as 2019, according to an archived version of the startup’s website.

The suspension comes a day after Celsius said its Series B funding round was extended to $ 750 million, up from $ 400 million at a valuation of $ 3.25 billion announced in October. Celsius has recently been the target of several state regulators in the United States for alleged violations of securities laws.

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.

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