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$22 million is the arbitration award Payward, the legal entity behind crypto exchange Kraken, won against accounting firm Mazars.
Payward sued after Mazars abandoned a nearly finished audit during Operation Choke Point 2.0, the period in which professional service firms cut ties with crypto clients under coordinated regulatory pressure.
The mechanism: an audit left mid-stream Payward had retained Mazars as its auditor. Mazars walked away while the work was close to done. Payward's claim did not allege the audit was performed badly.
The argument rested on proximity: the engagement was nearly complete when Mazars departed, the completed work was stranded, and Payward absorbed the consequences. Arbitrators sided with Payward.
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