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October 09, 2018, 08:12:49 AM |
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On the back of current trending topic of Bitfinex solvency, I thought it might be interesting for some to read my story of their failure to withdraw fiat (EUR) for over 5 months now, since 07 May 2018.
On 18 August 2018 they abandoned the ticket and decided to discontinue all and any communication on the matter.
You can make your own decision whether they are solvent and legit exchange, or not.
Below is a "diary" with quotes from Bitfinex and later on Crypto Capital, and some comments of mine.
Quotes in italic are direct quotes from support messages.
Only thing changed is one ticket reference to #*****, and some general courtesy lines skipped.
07 May 2018
I initiated a withdrawal of 20,000 EUR (minimal possible at that time) via bank transfer to a European bank account.
16 May 2018
I filed a support case, asking where the funds are.
11 June 2018
Bitfinex replied:
“The bank receives a message from the beneficiary bank that the funds could not be applied because Intermediary Bank details are required.
Would you please ask your bank and provide us information (Intermediary bank name and SWIFT CODE) or let us know if we should return the funds to your account?”
***This already makes 0 sense:
1. Why would a beneficiary/receiving institution ask for an intermediary bank? The sending institution might, but not the receiving institution.
2. The receiving institution is directly connected with Lithuanian Central Bank, and therefore kind of directly connected to the ECB. I am failing to imagine a case why an intermediary bank would be needed.
3. I have received funds to that account from many different counterparts, including Bitfinex aka Crypto Capital aka Global Trade Solutions aka [several random companies], it always worked fine without an intermediary bank.
4. Some other impossible claims at later dates, I will highlight as the story progresses.
11 June 2018
I did opt for return of funds to the account.
[Couple chasers and reminders in the meantime]
29 June 2018
They corrected the inaccuracy of point 1. above and also add some new info:
“The wire has already been sent out from Citibank on 5/14/18. However, due to the lack of intermediary bank details, the funds did not reach your bank.
We have asked the bank to return the funds back into our account. According to a message from the Citibank, the funds should be returned around 7 more business days.
As soon as we receive the returned funds, we will credit back into your account.”
***Here I would like to add another points to my don’t-believe list:
5. Seriously, they claim that Citibank is servicing the shady Bitfinex / Crypto Capital tandem? I can hardly believe that. Later on I will show why.
17 July 2018
A new fairy tale is here:
“Citibank needs to open a new account for all returning funds to be credited to. They are still working on it.”
***Really?
6. What does that even mean? Where would Citi need to open an account for themselves?
[Couple chasers and reminders in the meantime]
31 Jul 2018
Even more confusing:
“We are sorry that there is still no update except for the notice from Crypto Capital that they started receiving some funds, but some have not been returned yet. We have urged them to check with CitiBank again.”
***Uhm?
7. Some funds? I had one payment. One. Simple. Payment. What do you mean some funds?
8. Looking at “some funds” part, I can assume that the problem is much bigger than just my case.
08 Aug 2018
Another update:
“Citibank has promised to get Crypto Capital Corp a statement of returns and credits this week.
And the bank team sent another note this morning reiterating that they would do so, as Crypto Capital Corp has alerted them of the legal action pending.”
***This is interesting:
9. Threat of Legal Action from Crypto Capital to Citi? Very interesting.
17 Aug 2018
Another update:
“We have confirmed with Crypto Capital Corp, and they did receive a statement.
However, not all items were included on the statement. They have urged Citibank to trace funds on their end to solve all the issues.
So far they are still awaiting the reply from the banking team.”
***Quite repetitive:
10. WTF. Looks like reiteration of 7.
11. And really why is it my problem, what is happening in their internal workings. I traded on Bitfinex, made a withdrawal. Make sure it goes through, or return the funds to the exchange account. End of story. I don’t need to know all this, or be part of it.
[Couple chasers and reminders in the meantime]
[A new ticket asking to answer to the previous one]
14 Sep 2018
Since Bitfinex decided to simply ignore all my chasers, I decided to approach Crypto Capital directly.
17 Sep 2018
A quick reply:
“We are aware of the issue. Initially, we received a message from the beneficiary bank that the funds could not be applied because Intermediary Bank details are needed.
When we did not hear back from them we requested a return of funds but have yet to receive them.
We made a recall request with Citibank several times and have not yet received a confirmation on the whereabouts of the funds.
Our team is working on it and we truly hope to get you more updates soon. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
20 Sep 2018
A quick reply:
“The issue is with a Polish Bank Spold that was seized by the Government. It is very difficult to get any details from them but we hope to have the funds released soon.”
***Now this is very interesting.
12. Citibank was the perpetrator all the time. Now suddenly Bank Spółdzielczy.
13. As you know, couple accounts related to Bitfinex / Crypto Capital gang has been seized there in April. I made a withdrawal in May. And surely Polish and Lithuanian banks would not need an intermediary for a transfer.
25 Sep 2018
After I pointed out the discrepancy, they did admit an error:
“I'm sorry this is my error. It is a CITI Bank issue.
For future reference the TX ID in our system is #******.
I've escalated the matter with our banking team and will notify you of their response.”
28 Sep 2018
After I asked for a SWIFT message copy of original outgoing transfer, and a recall request, they replied:
“We sent a letter to CITI requested this information. “
As of today, there is still no result.
I decided to publish this to make sure that other market participants know that THIS can happen to your funds when using Bitfinex and their sister entity Crypto Capital.
I have tried to keep it a private matter, but after almost half a year I am having serious doubts that I am ever seeing those funds again, so at least I'll warn some other traders.
I would tolerate this for a month. Maybe three months. But after three months they surely should cover it from their own reserve, and deal with their banking provider on their own.
In a month, it will be half a year, with no end to this to be seen.
Thank you for your attention.
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