The bankrupted crypto lender Celsius has to pay at around $5 million to a court-appointed examiner Shoba Pillay. She has filed a work plan that estimates the fees for her investigation will be around $3 million – $5 million.
Pillay’s first priority is to get a firmer grasp on the volume and extent of documents and data that her team will need to review and analyze. She highlighted that her requests must be prioritized to meet the court deadlines. The Jenner & Block lawyer also noted that Celsius is fielding multiple demands for information. As such, Pillay made it clear that if the examiner is going to meet the Court’s deadlines, the pace of access to documents needs to be sped up.
Her team has shared concerns of the same with Celsius and is optimistic that the firm will respond promptly. She said any attempt to budget at this time is at best an educated guess as she hasn’t received the necessary documents to assess the work ahead. Pillay estimates that the fees would be around $3 million to $5 million for her and her team. She looks forward to interviewing 15-25 witnesses, Celsius executives, and employees in non-interview settings to bring about the flow of information. Moreover, Pillay wants to retain forensic and financial advisor Huron, and will be making a request for the same in the near future.
The examiner will also monitor any government investigations into Celsius. It should be noted that the crypto lender is the target of a multi-state investigation into possible securities violations.
