Loss of 200 million in Celsius Network | Cryptos are over at the CDPQ

There is one certainty at the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) since the Celsius Network debacle: cryptocurrencies are over. The person responsible for this investment of 200 million, which evaporated in less than a year, is no longer employed by Quebeckers.

A motion alleging “false and misleading representations” has also been filed in the context of the bankruptcy proceedings of the controversial cryptobank, said the president and chief executive officer of the Caisse, Charles Émond, Thursday, on the sidelines of the presentation. of the institution’s annual results.

“We won’t do any more,” he dropped, when asked how the CDPQ would behave in the context of another bet in the virtual currency sector.

Celsius Network has been splashed several times since filing for Chapter 11 US bankruptcy law. Its founder and former big boss, Alex Mashinsky, is the subject of a civil complaint from the New York justice system, which accuses the entrepreneur of having multiplied false declarations in addition to misleading his customers.

Then, at the end of January, a report commissioned by the American judge who oversees bankruptcy proceedings added another layer, in addition to raising new questions about the weakness of the due diligence carried out by the CDPQ. The document included several mentions of a Ponzi scheme and revealed that Celsius performed its bookkeeping with QuickBooks, an accounting software that is mainly aimed at small and medium-sized businesses.

At a press conference, Mr. Émond revealed that Alexandre Synnett, who was vice-president, private equity, technologies, had left the ship about two weeks ago.

“He decided to leave, said the big boss of the CDPQ. He tendered his resignation, which we respect. »

At the time of the announcement of the investment, in the fall of 2021, the principal was not in the private equity sector. Changes were subsequently made. We also learned that Mr. Synett managed a portfolio that fluctuated around 7 billion, according to the explanations offered by Mr. Émond. The venture capital portion is close to $2 billion. This suggests that Celsius’ meltdown was 10% of that envelope.

The Fund has once again defended its due diligence.

” During six months […] there were cryptocurrency experts from the United States, about fifteen people who were on it, said the head of the institution. What I want to say is that there was a verification (prior) that was done. »

After hinting that it could opt for legal action last summer, the CDPQ has moved from words to action. She filed a claim in the hope of recovering an amount not specified in the court documents seen by The Press.

“We had invested at the entity level where there was no debt,” said Mr. Émond. There have also been false and misleading representations about the company’s financial situation. »

According to the report released last January by former federal prosecutor Shoba Pillay, Celsius had been essentially insolvent since its founding in 2017.