Justice Chua Lee Ming ruled on September 23 that the dismissal of Alexander Hoeptner by his former employer, Three Fins, in 2022 was wrongful. — iStock picSINGAPORE, Oct 10 — A Singapore High Court judge has awarded a German cryptocurrency executive over US$2.4 million in damages following a two-year legal battle over wrongful dismissal, potentially setting a record for the highest compensation for such claims in Singapore.
Hoeptner’s lawyer, Suresh Divyanathan, partner and head of international arbitration at Oon & Bazul, indicated that this could be the largest sum awarded for wrongful dismissal in Singapore. His appointment came after the co-founders of BitMEX resigned amid regulatory investigations in the United States.
Justice Chua determined that the dismissal process was flawed, as it was executed by the chairman of HDR Group instead of the directors of Three Fins, as specified in Hoeptner’s employment agreement. “Since the judge ruled that the decision to terminate Mr Hoeptner for cause was wrong, the defendant had no proper basis to deny Mr Hoeptner the lump sum payment,” he said.
He is currently the chief executive of digital assets firm AllUnity and is focused on increasing the adoption of digital tokens, including the development of a euro-denominated stablecoin.