According to reports of internet news portals CoinTelegram and Sprout, the Dutch police have arrested the founder of blockchain game development startup Komodore64. The crypto startup registered in The Hague that allegedly raised 78 million euros ($86 million) from investors via the issuance of its crypto coin K64. The startup was declared bankrupt, its founder Sam Narein has been arrested.
Komodore64 apparently deceived both investors and its own employees. The startup reportedly raised roughly $86 million from investors in its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and in private placements. The project was launched in June 2019 with an expensive launch party in the Fokker Terminal in The Hague. Sam Narain allegedly defrauded investors by claiming his company had secured investment from Goldman Sachs.
While the suppliers of the startup have not been paid, the twelve employees of the company also received no salary for months. Hence, Komodore64 employees filed for bankruptcy by the end of October 2019. Around the same time, the rumor surfaced that Komodore64 founder Sam Narein was arrested at the Hilton Hotel in The Hague, where he had been staying for some time because he felt threatened by angry crypto investors. Most likely rightfully so. An Italian investor reportedly lost €600,000.
The Komodore64 curator John Dullaart confirmed that Sam Narein would be questioned by the authorities today.
There are still a number of comparable crypto startups in Europe that have received millions of investors, went bankrupt and the authorities are now investigating. For example, the Cointed in Austria, which operated crypto ATMs and a crypto exchange until its bankruptcy in 2018, as well as crypto mining. The company allegedly received many millions of investors. After the bankruptcy, the founders Christopher Rieder and Wolfgang Thaler vanished as did the money. As did
Currently, the file is with the prosecutor’s office. It will be years before the Crypto hype is worked off by the courts.
