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Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

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Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#41

Post by 300bps »

dragontamer wrote: post #39
300bps wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right; this isn't even close to news. Essentially, the plaintiffs are complaining that Karpeles isn't volunteering to massively inconvenience himself to make the lives of the people suing him easier. Their offer to "pay all travel expenses" was hilarious. As if $5,000 or even 10x that amount is even a rounding error to the case they're pursuing against him.

On the contrary: he's asking for bankruptcy protection from US Courts. US Courts can use bankruptcy law to protect you from your creditors. But if he refuses to comply with the Courts, then why should get get any bankruptcy protection?

But if he refuses to comply with the Courts

Who said he refuses to comply with the courts? He's opposing a filing made by the plaintiffs. The court has not even ruled on the filing (which is merely a request from the Plaintiffs for the court to order).

Deposition by video conference is common. Alternatively, he's offered to meet them in Taiwan. The guy can be guilty of whatever, but to paint him negatively because he's not going out of his way to help someone who wants to destroy him doesn't make sense to me.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#42

Post by zacharypinter »

coldtea wrote: post #24
CharlesMerriam2 wrote: post #22

Remember when the U.S. was the "shining beacon"? Where someone coming into questioning couldn't be held indefinitely as a "material witness"? Or to first have all assets seized and then assigned a terrible attorney because of insolvency? When it would not be a stupid move to submit to questioning on U.S. soil? Yesh, that's what I thought.

When was that? The slavery era? The prohibition? The seggregation? The McCarthy era? The J.E Hoover era?

I think it was the era when we were young and learning about the U.S. in school :)

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#43

Post by runjake »

300bps wrote: post #37
jxf wrote: post #14

As a US citizen, if I lived outside the US and was summoned back for "questioning" by adverse parties, there's almost no reason I can imagine going. If that's truly all they want, then there's no reason it needs to be done in person. Depositions can be conducted remotely in many (though not all) jurisdictions.

You're right; this isn't even close to news. Essentially, the plaintiffs are complaining that Karpeles isn't volunteering to massively inconvenience himself to make the lives of the people suing him easier. Their offer to "pay all travel expenses" was hilarious. As if $5,000 or even 10x that amount is even a rounding error to the case they're pursuing against him.

I don't think you're looking at the big picture. It's "news" because the plaintiffs want to generate negative public PR for Karpeles. They're not going to the press for the hell of it. The plaintiffs want that negative press against Karpeles to flow.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#44

Post by aspensmonster »

busterarm wrote: post #27
jxf wrote: post #14

As a US citizen, if I lived outside the US and was summoned back for "questioning" by adverse parties, there's almost no reason I can imagine going. If that's truly all they want, then there's no reason it needs to be done in person. Depositions can be conducted remotely in many (though not all) jurisdictions.

I wonder how many folks out there agree with you in this case but not with say Julian Assange.

My understanding is that, under Swedish law, Assange has what amounts to an arrest warrant. That they don't call it that and insist on merely claiming he's "wanted for questioning" is, as far as I can tell, semantics. He'd be brought in for questioning and subsequently arrested pending a trial. I'm not a lawyer though, much less in Swedish law.

I think Assange should go to Sweden to face questioning and his likely arrest. I think he's denying himself and the other parties involved justice on the matter, something Assange claims to hold in high regard. However, I also don't think he'd ever make it to Sweden to begin with, even if he did decide to leave the embassy. And, even if he did make it to Sweden, the U.S. State Department has made it clear that they will hunt him to the edge of the Earth for what he's done and enabled others to do.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#45

Post by gsnedders »

aspensmonster wrote: post #44
busterarm wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how many folks out there agree with you in this case but not with say Julian Assange.

My understanding is that, under Swedish law, Assange has what amounts to an arrest warrant. That they don't call it that and insist on merely claiming he's "wanted for questioning" is, as far as I can tell, semantics. He'd be brought in for questioning and subsequently arrested pending a trial. I'm not a lawyer though, much less in Swedish law. I think Assange should go to Sweden to face questioning and his likely ar…

He'd be arrested in the UK as soon as he stepped outside of the embassy for breach of the terms of bail (and that is a criminal offence and there is absolutely no question he has committed it), even if everything else was dropped.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#46

Post by logfromblammo »

dragonwriter wrote: post #38
logfromblammo wrote: post #30

I believe Admiral Akbar might have some advice for this CEO. Given the U.S. propensity for arresting foreign nationals for allegedly breaking U.S. laws while completely outside of U.S. territory just as soon as they finally set foot on it, I would politely decline this request as well. The offer to pay 100% of all travel expenses up front is particularly suspicious. Given what has already occurred, I'd probably also…

Yeah, somehow, I'm not seeing any reason to believe that the people suing Mt.Gox for fraud are in league with a government plot against Karpeles. Mt.Gox sought bankruptcy protection in Japan, and then in the US (tied to the Japanese process). People with claims in the US against Mt.Gox, as is fairly routine in bankruptcy cases where there are active claims, sought to have Karpeles testimony as a representative of the…

Except there is no particular reason why Karpeles actually needs to be physically present to provide his testimony, or for the corporation's designated representative in court to be a specific individual rather than an attorney hired for that purpose.

I am not one who believes that physical custody of a witness is either necessary or sufficient to obtain truthful statements from him. I already find some of the traditional rituals of courtroom procedure to lie somewhere between useless and ridiculous, so I still stand behind my statement. I will now expand it to say that the routine practice of paying for the physical transportation and upkeep of a witness is particularly suspicious and wasteful.

If you want questions answered, ask them. You should probably be prepared to be disappointed in the answers, if you get any at all. You may find that some people are more forthcoming when a grim-faced person in a robe, with armed men ready to mete out punishment at a word, is not the one demanding answers.

We have an Internet now. Information moves a lot faster and more inexpensively by itself than it does in the custody of a human courier. Thus, the stated motive--"to appear for questioning"--appears on its face to be bogus.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#47

Post by Grue3 »

300bps wrote: post #37
jxf wrote: post #14

As a US citizen, if I lived outside the US and was summoned back for "questioning" by adverse parties, there's almost no reason I can imagine going. If that's truly all they want, then there's no reason it needs to be done in person. Depositions can be conducted remotely in many (though not all) jurisdictions.

You're right; this isn't even close to news. Essentially, the plaintiffs are complaining that Karpeles isn't volunteering to massively inconvenience himself to make the lives of the people suing him easier. Their offer to "pay all travel expenses" was hilarious. As if $5,000 or even 10x that amount is even a rounding error to the case they're pursuing against him.

Too bad he "massively inconvenienced" tons of other people by stealing a shitload of money from them.

Re: Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles refuses travel to U.S. for questioning

#48

Post by srdev »

Rather understandable, since I'm sure theres a good case for him going to jail in the US. I'm not sure why there's all the comments about the US being authoritarian here though -- Karpeles really screwed a lot of people over,did a bunch of shady stuff, and was grossly negligent in running his exchange. Jail time would not be unwarranted, presuming that the law allows for it.
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