Australian BitConnect Promoter Banned From Financial Services

According to a statement from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) on Thursday,

ASIC has banned John Louis Anthony Bigatton, of New South Wales, from providing financial services for seven years.

The punishment is for Mr. Bigatton’s role as the “national representative” and promoter for the infamous Ponzi scheme between August 2017 and January 2018. The statement noted that Mr. Bigatton provided unlicensed financial product advice and engaged in conduct concerning financial products and services, which “was misleading or deceptive.” Over the years, Mr. Bigatton reportedly tried his hand at everything from selling vitamins to running a gym – anything that promised fast money. When BitConnect, a shady company based in India selling cryptocurrency dreams, came along, Bigatton quickly jumped on the opportunity. During the height of 2017’s Bitcoin mania, he promoted BitConnect and recruited investors throughout Australia.

A Brief BitConnect History

BitConnect was launched in 2016 and presented as an open-source platform where users could lend the value of BitConnect Coin in return for interest payments. Despite a suspicious multi-level structure and the promise of impossibly high payouts (40% interest according to one lawsuit), BitConnect managed to collect billions of dollars from investors. Ultimately it was forced to shut done in January 2018 after regulators from Texas and North Carolina issued a cease and desist order against it. All told, with the collapse of BitConnect, AUD 3.7 billion (~$2.7 billion) vanished overnight in one of the most spectacular exit scams in cryptocurrency history. As for Bigatton, the Federal Court of Australia began freezing his assets in December 2018 and also enacted travel restrictions on him. He is believed to have earned at least $100,000 by promoting the scam and is reportedly being investigated for money laundering. Biggaton’s wife, Madeline Bigatton, disappeared in March 2018, and an inquest into her disappearance and suspected death is ongoing. There have been varying accounts of what happened and a lot of speculation.  Mr. Bigatton has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in response to the ASIC’s decision.