A $1 million haul in cash and gold linked to the QuadrigaCX co-founder has been seized by the British Columbia government, signaling the strongest evidence yet of the province’s unexplained wealth order framework.
The British Columbia Supreme Court granted the forfeiture after Michael Patryn pleaded no contest, clearing the way for the Province to liquidate 45 gold bars, luxury watches and more than $250,000 in cash seized during an earlier investigation, according to a Vancouver Sun report.
Court documents recovered by CoinDesk show that in September 2025, the court granted the Province a civil forfeiture judgment conferring ownership of cash, gold bars, watches and jewelry that were seized in March 2024 as part of an Unexplained Wealth Order, a tool used by law enforcement in British Columbia to combat money laundering.
The Order argued that Patryn was heavily involved in all aspects of QuadrigaCX’s operations, including the misappropriation of customer funds and cryptocurrency, thus justifying the seizure of assets. After the seizure, the next step was to force Patryn to explain his wealth.
Patryn initially challenged the action on constitutional grounds, CoinDesk previously reported, arguing that the investigation violated his Statutory rights, but did not appear to defend the case when the Province moved to seize the assets.
QuadrigaCX collapsed in 2019 after the death of CEO Gerald Cotten and customer funds were discovered to be missing. Later investigations described co-founder Patryn as deeply involved in the exchange’s operations during the period in which the misappropriations occurred.
The seizure now paves the way for a separate process to determine whether any of the recovered assets can be directed to Quadriga’s long-standing creditors.
QuadrigaCX’s bankruptcy was concluded in May 2023 and plaintiffs received 13 cents on the dollar.
