On July 25, 44-year-old Tobiasz Niemiro, the alleged co-owner of the defunct Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitMarket, was found dead in his home province of Olsztyn, Poland. The news of Niemiro’s death was broken by local media outlet, Radio Olsztyn.
Niemiro’s body was found in a forest near Lake Tyrskowas after 2 pm by local police. While the exact circumstances surrounding Niermo’s death have not been determined, his body was found with “a wound of the head,” according to Radio Olsztyn.
Local media outlet, Gazeta Wyborcza, has speculated that his death may have been the result of a suicide.
BitMarket Ceased Operations on July 8
Bitmarket closed on July 8, disappearing alongside 2,300 BTC valued at approximately PLN 100 million (approximately $26 million). The exchange attributed its closure to a “loss of liquidity,” and has since displayed a notice on its website pledging to inform customers of “future steps.”
Up until last week, the BitMarket case was under the supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Olsztyn. On July 19, the regional prosecutor in Bialystok, deciding to transfer the case to the District Office in Suwalki after approximately 400 citizens contact authorities in response to the exchange’s sudden closure and apparent appropriation of customer funds.
During an interview with Money.pl conducted four days after the exchange’s closure, Niermiro denied claims that he was BitMarket’s operator, stating:
was a financial investor, I never ran the Bitmarket stock market, I never managed it. I treated this venture as an investment goal, which will be managed and developed by competent people, then the entire holding will be profitably sold. This goal has not been achieved. I have not recovered the invested funds
Niemiro Claimed to Have Sold BitMarket Shares in 2017
Niemiro claimed that he sold his shares in BitMarket during 2017, stating that he did not “bear any responsibility for the activity and situation of the exchange,” had “no knowledge” pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the exchange’s closure.
Niemiro described himself as a “victim” of BitMarket, stating:
I lost everything because somebody led to the collapse of the exchange. Now I’m losing face and [a] good name for which I’ve worked all my life. I am one of the victims
BitMarket was one of the oldest Polish cryptocurrency exchanges, having established during 2014. The following year, Tobiasz Niemiro purchased the exchange alongside partner Marcin Askielowicz.
