Canada Revenue Agency Audits QuadrigaCX’s Corporate Tax Returns

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the country’s tax authority, is auditing the corporate tax returns filed by QuadrigaCX, the now-defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. 

CRA’s request for documents and information is significant

According to an article by the Globe and Mail on Sept. 16, QuadrigaCX is now being audited by the CRA which has requested the tax returns from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2018.

The Canadian exchange has been generating headlines ever since its CEO, Gerald Cotten, was declared dead in India without ever revealing the passwords to access the company’s cryptocurrency reserves.

Bankruptcy trustee EY, which oversees the exchange’s insolvency proceedings, said that the CRA’s request for documents and information is significant, stating:

“The Trustee intends to discuss the request for information with CRA Audit and their counsel and will return to Court for further direction, if necessary.”

The bankruptcy trustee added that responding to all of the information requests from various law enforcement agencies and regulators will have a direct affect on how much money is available to repay QuadrigaCX's 115,000 creditors. However, EY admits that there is no legal basis for it to refuse to respond to these requests and adds:

“Accordingly, the Trustee is focused on conducting its document collection, organization, review and production efforts in as cost effective a manner as possible [...] it is not expected that the Trustee will be in a position to respond to the CRA Audit request at this time.”

Over the past year, the exchange has been engaged in a lengthy court case with the exchange’s creditors, some of whom have speculated wildly as to the fate of the lost cryptocurrency, with some wondering whether Cotten is even dead.