Kraken Wins $22M From Auditor That Abandoned It During Operation Choke Point 2.0
Payward, Kraken’s parent, won a $22 million arbitration award against former auditor Mazars USA after Mazars allegedly abandoned a nearly completed audit. Payward is asking the Delaware Court of Chancery to enter final judgment. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the withdrawal caused reputational and financial harm during “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” when crypto firms say they were cut off from banking, auditors, and other services. Sethi said Mazars had given Kraken two clean audit opinions before quitting the third audit in December 2023, citing legal uncertainty after an SEC complaint against Kraken. He argues the exit reflected broader pressure on crypto service providers. The letter also criticizes federal banking and SEC actions against crypto and urges passage of the Clarity Act, a market structure bill that would split crypto oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
