NYAG says information Bitfinex was asked to produce should be 'at its fingertips'

The New York Attorney General's Office filed another letter to presiding Judge Hon. Joel M. Cohen in regards to the iFinex case, with the office claiming any exchange would have the requested information "at its fingertips." The company has sought to refrain from handing over materials and actively participating in the NYAG's fraud investigation into Bitfinex. 

Bitfinex's counsel also filed a letter yesterday saying the exchange had spent over $500,000 in responding to the NYAG's document demands, and that finding documents for the investigation was a costly procedure.

The NYAG response alleges that the information requested shouldn't be all that hard to dredge up, including information on the orders, issuances and redemptions of tethers; accounting of iFinex's corporate, trading and client accounts, as well as its tax filings and information on clients' cash withdrawals from the platform. 

"Whatever difficulty Respondents may claim in collecting and reviewing the communications called for in the 354 Order, the Court should take note that the 354 Order also calls for information that any responsible trading platform or venue of exchange should have at its fingertips," said the letter.

As for the costliness of the procedures, the NYAG argued this does not fall under "irreparable harm" as Bitfinex alleged. The NYAG claimed precedent shows discovery costs and legal fees are not enough to be considered "irreparable injury," and therefore the Court shouldn't grant a stay of document demands on those grounds.

This is the latest filing in the case between the NYAG and Bitfinex, which began in April when the AG's office began an investigation into an alleged co-mingling of funds between Bitfinex and Tether to cover an alleged $850 million loss by the exchange.

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.