Today, Mark Karpeles learns how to spell "EMBEZZLEMENT"

[biggus dickus]

Anybody have any idea about what kind of punishment he could face if found guilty on those charges?

If you really want to know then here's what looks like their penal code - http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/PC.pdf

The following is from the document you posted, not sure they will all apply though, just posting here for interest....

Article 252. (Embezzlement)
(1) A person who embezzles property in his/her possession which belongs to another, shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 5 years.
(2) The same shall apply to a person who embezzles his/her own property when the person has been ordered by a public office to hold the property in custody

Article 235. (Theft)
A person who steals the property of another commits the crime of theft and shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.

Article 246-2. (Computer Fraud)
In addition to the provisions of Article 246, a person who obtains or causes another to obtain a profit by creating a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights by inputting false data or giving unauthorized commands to a computer utilized for the business of another, or by putting a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights into use for the administration of the matters of another shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years.

Most countries give you a reduced sentence for pleading guilty, and the chance for further reductions in your sentence for good behavior inside. Sometimes criminals get released on parole half way through their sentence. I don't know if Japan uses that system, but if it does he might only serve a few years if he's found guilty. Remember Nick Leeson, the derivatives broker whose fraudulent trading lost Barings Bank $1.4 billion. He was only sentenced to six and a half years, and he got out early.

[Beliathon]

Japan charges Bitcoin exchange CEO with embezzlement

[Gleb Gamow]

Anybody have any idea about what kind of punishment he could face if found guilty on those charges?

If you really want to know then here's what looks like their penal code - http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/PC.pdf

The following is from the document you posted, not sure they will all apply though, just posting here for interest....

Article 252. (Embezzlement)
(1) A person who embezzles property in his/her possession which belongs to another, shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 5 years.
(2) The same shall apply to a person who embezzles his/her own property when the person has been ordered by a public office to hold the property in custody

Article 235. (Theft)
A person who steals the property of another commits the crime of theft and shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.

Article 246-2. (Computer Fraud)
In addition to the provisions of Article 246, a person who obtains or causes another to obtain a profit by creating a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights by inputting false data or giving unauthorized commands to a computer utilized for the business of another, or by putting a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights into use for the administration of the matters of another shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years.

Most countries give you a reduced sentence for pleading guilty, and the chance for further reductions in your sentence for good behavior inside. Sometimes criminals get released on parole half way through their sentence. I don't know if Japan uses that system, but if it does he might only serve a few years if he's found guilty. Remember Nick Leeson, the derivatives broker whose fraudulent trading lost Barings Bank $1.4 billion. He was only sentenced to six and a half years, and he got out early.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox#Insolvency_and_shutdown

On 23 February 2014, Mark Karpelès, the CEO of Mt. Gox, resigned from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation. The same day, all posts on their Twitter account were removed.

On 24 February 2014, Mt. Gox suspended all trading, and hours later its website went offline, returning a blank page. An alleged leaked internal crisis management document claimed that the company was insolvent, after losing 744,408 bitcoins in a theft which went undetected for years. Six other major bitcoin exchanges released a joint statement distancing themselves from Mt. Gox, shortly before Mt. Gox's website went offline.

On 25 February 2014, Mt. Gox reported on its website that a "decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being", citing "recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations". The chief executive, Mark Karpelès, told Reuters that Mt. Gox was "at a turning point".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson

Leeson left a note reading "I'm Sorry" and fled Singapore on 23 February. Losses eventually reached £827 million (US$1.4 billion), twice the bank's available trading capital. After a failed bailout attempt, Barings was declared insolvent on 26 February.

But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about the downfall ride
Something touched me deep inside
The day Mt Gox died

[tss]

this is great news.  i am very happy about it going in the right direction.  at first people said he would be able to get away with it in japan with their anything goes crypto policies.  i wonder how this turns out.

[Come-from-Beyond]

i wonder how this turns out.

For those BTC that Mark holds he will serve his time in jail like on a resort and will quit still having hundreds of millions of dollars.

[mallard]

i wonder how this turns out.

For those BTC that Mark holds he will serve his time in jail like on a resort and will quit still having hundreds of millions of dollars.

So he still has a load of coins?

[Come-from-Beyond]

So he still has a load of coins?

Seems so, he was living in very expensive apartment.

[Kprawn]

Well, I will send him this gift when he gets sentenced ---> http://www.tattooedtealady.com/2014/09/soap-glory-kick-ass-instant-retouch.html .... powdered soap takes

longer to pick up, when you drop it in the shower.  .... And for bed time, some of this ---> http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g7KcbMxmLEU/R2iKFU_YWuI/AAAAAAAACsI/Zvxt0EaXLlw/s1600/ky_jelly_300.jpg

Let's hope the prison warders know nothing about Bitcoin, otherwise he will have a great time inside there with our coins. 

[gentlemand]

So he still has a load of coins?

As with almost every aspect of this whole thing, only Mark knows.

[GreanT]

Anybody have any idea about what kind of punishment he could face if found guilty on those charges?

If you really want to know then here's what looks like their penal code - http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/PC.pdf

The following is from the document you posted, not sure they will all apply though, just posting here for interest....

Article 252. (Embezzlement)
(1) A person who embezzles property in his/her possession which belongs to another, shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 5 years.
(2) The same shall apply to a person who embezzles his/her own property when the person has been ordered by a public office to hold the property in custody

Article 235. (Theft)

A person who steals the property of another commits the crime of theft and shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.

Article 246-2. (Computer Fraud)
In addition to the provisions of Article 246, a person who obtains or causes another to obtain a profit by creating a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights by inputting false data or giving unauthorized commands to a computer utilized for the business of another, or by putting a false electromagnetic record relating to acquisition, loss or alteration of property rights into use for the administration of the matters of another shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 10 years.

Plus court ordered restitution (for whatever that's worth). Gox users will never be compensated but hopefully they can get some satisfaction in knowing that a large portion of the meager wages Karpeles will make in prison and thereafter will be taken from him. But ya, hopefully he serves legit time.

[Gleb Gamow]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2983448/mt-gox-chief-charged-with-embezzling-bitcoin-funds.html

Japanese prosecutors have charged the former founder and CEO of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox with embezzling the money of clients. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Mark Karpeles was arrested by police in Tokyo last month, 17 months after Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy with losses of tens of millions of dollars.

Karpeles is suspected of moving money from the accounts of clients into the accounts of his own company, reported Japan's Kyodo News.

While it's too early to know the specifics of the prosecution case, Karpeles' odds are not good now he's been charged. Japan has a conviction rate of roughly 99 percent.

[tvbcof]

He pumped Bitcoin to $1000+ by doing fake trades and bitcoiners still hate him? Weird people...

Great point.  Mt. Gox's estate owes me $5k in fiat for a wire they never sent, but no BTC because I pulled what I had with them and potentially on the auction block before they went tits-up.  The $5k is peanuts compared to the benefit I realized by selling near the high.  If Krapholes is responsible for that 4-figure blip he did me a giant favor and I'd be inclined to just let him have the $5k and give him a hearty thanks.

For some reason I was not at all upset over my loss here while normally such things drive me into a foaming rage.  Part of it was that when I decided to take a chance on the $5k wire I gave it relatively high odds of failure.  Another part may have been a gut sense that Mt. Gox's activities had served me quite well though I don't think that the analysis of their trading bots was released until some time after they had suffered a very obvious implosion.  Another part which I have yet to shake is that I sense that the U.S. corp/gov authorities had more than a little involvement in the nature and timing of the events and that there is more to the story than simplistic embezzlement, although it seems not unlikely that multiple parties independently saw 'hundreds of millions' of reasons to pressure him.  Time will tell perhaps.  If Mark ended up 'suicided' I would not be surprised in the least though as an observation supporting one hypothesis or another it would not be all that valuable.

[moni3z]

Japan you only need to pay a fine when found guilty of any economic crime. You can also agree to only pay 10% of the fine and work out a deal for future restitution in payments, at which point Karpeles can take the first flight out of the country. There will be no forced Seppuku, jail time or led around in the back of a horse cart in a cage where the public can throw rotten vegetables at him. At least he will be forever hated in Japan as dishonorabru if he bails on the fine

[Gleb Gamow]

He pumped Bitcoin to $1000+ by doing fake trades and bitcoiners still hate him? Weird people...

Great point.  Mt. Gox's estate owes me $5k in fiat for a wire they never sent, but no BTC because I pulled what I had with them and potentially on the auction block before they went tits-up.  The $5k is peanuts compared to the benefit I realized by selling near the high.  If Krapholes is responsible for that 4-figure blip he did me a giant favor and I'd be inclined to just let him have the $5k and give him a hearty thanks.

For some reason I was not at all upset over my loss here while normally such things drive me into a foaming rage.  Part of it was that when I decided to take a chance on the $5k wire I gave it relatively high odds of failure.  Another part may have been a gut sense that Mt. Gox's activities had served me quite well though I don't think that the analysis of their trading bots was released until some time after they had suffered a very obvious implosion.  Another part which I have yet to shake is that I sense that the U.S. corp/gov authorities had more than a little involvement in the nature and timing of the events and that there is more to the story than simplistic embezzlement, although it seems not unlikely that multiple parties independently saw 'hundreds of millions' of reasons to pressure him.  Time will tell perhaps.  If Mark ended up 'suicided' I would not be surprised in the least though as an observation supporting one hypothesis or another it would not be all that valuable.

http://www.dailytech.com/Bitcoin+King+Pt+II+Mt+Goxs+Dictator+Karpels+Proves+Tragically+Flawed/article34452.htm

Bear in mind, these boastful blogs came just months after he had been fired for the second time in just two years and having blogged that he had seriously considering hanging himself with a network cable from a high-rise window.

Of all the times he has looked in the mirror, how could he missed seeing that his plan won't work. The noose would slip off.