Mazars and Kraken: An unfortunately doomed relationship

The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war. In international conflicts, the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about themselves. Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins. But the day has passed for superficial patriotism. He who lives with untruth lives in spiritual slavery. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Part 1, I summarized the Kraken lawsuit against Mazars and how that lawsuit is more about a delayed IPO than any money transmitter licenses.

I placed Kraken’s efforts to punish Mazars for resigning into context, based on of the new attitude of the Trump Administration and the Paul Atkins SEC towards crypto exchanges and other businesses. Companies like Kraken have been able to successfully crawl out from under the Gary Gensler-era reflexively heavy legal and regulatory rock to tap public markets.

That newsletter is free for all readers.

This is Part 2, and it is behind the paywall.

I’ll get into the weeds for the accounting, audit and regulatory experts regarding the rules and norms surrounding auditor resignations. I’ll describe the sequence of events that led to Mazars resignation in December 2023 and why I believe it was justified under the standards.

I’ll bring in some experts to support that, and talk about some past cases. Finally, I’ll talk about what Mazars could have done differently, perhaps, to avoid the Kraken lawsuit.