Dear crypto community,
Some of you might have already seen the recent news about Pavel Lerner, our team member, and a leading analyst at EXMO. We are relieved to share some good news - we managed to get in touch with Pavel, and he is currently safe, and in a favorable physical condition.
For those unaware of the situation, Pavel stopped responding to any forms of communication on December 26 in the afternoon. Witnesses saw a group of masked people in dark clothes capturing Pavel and forcing him into a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. They drove away knocking off the security barrier at a parking lot. A bit later in the day, Pavel's friends reported a case of kidnapping to the police, based on what the criminal case was opened, and a large-scale nationwide investigation began.
Today, on December 29, we managed to contact Pavel. He is now safe, and there was no physical harm inflicted on him. However, due to the major shock that he is going through, Pavel will not be able to respond with official comments in the coming days.
The state security authorities are continuing the investigation. We would like to note that the story of Pavel’s abduction has overgrown with rumours that might tamper with the official investigation. That said, EXMO currently refrains from any comments or suggestions of own versions of the possible scenario, until the end of the investigation.
Pavel's abduction became a massive shock for the whole EXMO team and our supporters. Nevertheless, we would like to note that EXMO continues its usual operations, which is unaffected by the absence of Pavel. All the user data stored on the exchange are safe, and the company is operating in a normal mode. Pavel’s activity at EXMO did not involve an access to financial assets of our users.
EXMO team is deeply grateful to the cryptocurrency community and the media for their active support. We promise to timely provide any updates on the situation.
Yours sincerely,
EXMO team