Mt. Gox Trial Update: Karpeles Admits ‘Willy Bot’ Existence

Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles has admitted operating a so-called ‘Willy Bot’ (obligation exchange) before prosecutors in Japan.

As Karpeles’ trial continues at Tokyo District Court, live rolling coverage is available online thanks to Kolin Burges, a Mt. Gox creditor and creator of action website mtgoxprotest.com.

In a series of tweets today, Burges said that despite “super tight security” and a “small courtroom,” he was able to get a place inside, albeit without his interpreter.

Karpeles trial under way! Super tight security & small courtroom. Few ppl got in. Thanks to unexpected help I got in, but not my interpreter pic.twitter.com/QzmnySjSBA — Kolin Burges (@The_K_meister) July 11, 2017

During the day’s proceedings, which spanned a morning and afternoon session, Karpeles claimed that running the Willy Bot was “for the good of the company so not illegal,” Burges reports.

Karpeles admits operating Willy bot, now called an “obligation exchange”, but says it was for good of company so not illegal #KarpelesTrial — Kolin Burges (@The_K_meister) July 11, 2017

The bot earned its name from Mt. Gox traders concerned that the exchange’s volumes at its peak were the result of fraudulent bot trading.

A dedicated research piece dubbed the ‘Willy Report’ is still available, having appeared as an attempt to find out what was happening inside the exchange while it was still operational.

Karpeles’ defense team also stated there had been hacks preceding the exchange’s collapse.

Burges also announced the creditor project had the support of “10 Japanese law firms” and that its website was to be translated into Japanese to aid its public profile.