Here's the thing about giving one person sole control over the company accounts: eventually, someone checks the QuickBooks.
Bitquery Inc., a blockchain data firm that tracks cryptocurrency values and flows, has sued its own former CEO in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging that Dionysios 'Dean' Karakitsos, 57, siphoned more than $5 million from the company over several years before resigning in October 2025.
Karakitsos co-founded Bitquery and held the roles of CEO, director, and treasurer until his departure. According to the filing, he had sole control over the company's banking accounts — which he allegedly used to transfer funds to multiple entities operated by him and his associates, including one based in the UK.
The alleged scheme picked up pace around 2022, when investors put roughly $8 million into Bitquery. In the years that followed, Karakitsos reportedly told investors the company held between $5 million and $6 million in the bank. The lawsuit claims the reality was considerably different: the company earned about $2 million in revenue in 2024 and 2025, with similar operating costs.
Days before his resignation, Karakitsos allegedly went into cleanup mode. The filing accuses him of deleting 194 expense entries and bill records from Bitquery's QuickBooks accounting system — records that reportedly documented transfers into his personal accounts. He is also accused of altering remaining records to obscure the transfers.
The company says the damage is 'ongoing': Karakitsos allegedly still holds all of Bitquery's banking credentials and has refused to return them. 'The harm to Bitquery is substantial, ongoing, and aggravated by each day that Karakitsos retains exclusive control over the Company's accounts,' the filing states.
Bitquery, which filed suit in June and has since appointed co-founder Aleksey Studnev as CEO, is demanding at least $5 million in restitution, return of property purchased with the misappropriated funds, a full accounting of the money, and surrender of all banking credentials. The company is also seeking additional damages, citing what it calls 'bad faith' conduct.
Company attorney Robert Lynch told the New York Post: 'The unlawful actions of the prior CEO, Mr. Karakitsos, have forced the company to take this step.' According to his LinkedIn profile, Karakitsos went on to run a prediction market platform called Assymetrix. He denied the allegations: 'I strongly disagree with the allegations and intend to respond through the legal process.'
Voltage's read: The crypto sector has spent years arguing it doesn't need legacy financial oversight because the blockchain itself provides transparency. What it apparently still needs is someone other than the CEO to have the bank password. Concentrated account control, inflated revenue figures fed to investors, and a last-minute records purge are not blockchain-native problems — they are the oldest kind. Free markets work when property rights are enforced and fraud is punished. That is exactly what the courts are for.
