The province won a default judgment for gold, watches, jewelry and $250,000 in cash that the RCMP seized in 2021 from a safety deposit box and bank account owned by Michael Patryn after he failed to appear in court. Patryn co-founded the infamous Canadian crypto-trading platform Quadriga, whose investors lost at least $169 million when it collapsed in 2019 after co-founder Gerald Cotten died suddenly in India, trapping investors’ funds as the company claimed he was the only one with the passwords that could release them from digital wallets. (The Logic)

Talking point: The RCMP seized the bank account and safety deposit box as part of a fraud investigation against Patryn and Cotten, alleging their contents were the proceeds of crime. Under a law enforcement tool in B.C. called an unexplained wealth order, Patryn had to prove he acquired them legally or forfeit them. Patryn initially contested the unexplained wealth order, alleging the seizure of the bank account and safety deposit box violated his Charter rights.