Liquidator FTI Consulting has announced that a significant purchase of troubled token Qoin is behind Queensland construction company Privium’s collapse, leaving hundreds of homes across the state unfinished and their prospective occupants fuming:
According to this week’s FTI report, Privium took an A$3 million gamble on cryptocurrency Qoin, transferring another half a million dollars to a Christian charity.
FTI stated that Qoin sales were limited to a few hundred dollars each day, describing the token as an “extremely illiquid” asset. When commenting on the company’s collapse, Privium CEO and founder Rob Harder proved a master of understatement when it came to placating disgruntled clients:
I understand that this is not the news you wanted to hear and that this will create real difficulties.
Rob Harder, Privium chief executive and founder
Both Harder and his wife are members of Hillsong Church in Brisbane’s southern suburban Mt Gravatt. While sources claim Privium had no connections with the church, the FTI’s investigation is ongoing.
Qoin Has Form
This isn’t the first controversy Qoin has been embroiled in. In February 2021, Blockchain Australia terminated Qoin’s membership via a notice of member disciplinary resolution, with locals at the time calling the token a scam.
In November, Salerno – an Australian crypto dispute specialist law firm – began preparations for a class action suit against Qoin for A$100 million. The firm was investigating Qoin’s potential breaches of Australian consumer law and the Corporations Act on counts of fraud and pyramid-like selling of financial products.
