Investigation Court Orders regarding Citadel

[jotoho]

Requested Court Orders​

1. Direct Search Warrant against Citadel​

The Azalea Isles Government request a search warrant permitting the Government to view all transaction records and other relevant metadata of the in-game bank "Citadel" (in registration paperwork also referred to as "Citadel Bank Incorporated") as well as any accounts it holds with other Financial Institutions.

2. Transitive Search Warrant against unknown beneficiaries of Citadel dissolution​

Additionally, we request a search warrant authorizing us to track the flow of funds taken from Citadel by accessing and reviewing transactions performed since March 20th on personal, company and bank balances and accounts which, in the same time frame, directly or indirectly received funds from Citadel.

3. Direct Search Warrant against blackred, 12700k and Vhagolar​

The company blackred and the individuals 12700k (Tai Lopez) and Vhagolar (formerly Abadoniss) are the current prime suspects in the illegal dissolution and transfers of funds.
The Government requests permission to view all of their transactions beginning on March 20th, including transaction logs and balances in accounts held with other banks or companies.

12700k is suspected due to being the last known owner of Citadel.

blackred is suspected due to seemingly having been created by a brand new player who first joined the server shortly before the dissolution of Citadel and having been recorded as having an unusually high balance for a company owned by a new player, which very suspiciously also matched exactly the funds that we believe were embezzled from Citadel.

Vhagolar is suspected due to being the owner of blackred.

3. Emergency Asset Freeze Order against blackred​

In light of blackred having briefly held precisely the amount of money taken from Citadel shortly after Citadel's dissolution, we respectfully request that the business balance and all accounts held by blackred with Financial Institutions or other companies be frozen by this court, in case they are hiding the contested funds in accounts elsewhere.

If this Asset Freeze Order is not granted with haste, we run the risk that our seeking of permission from court could be used as a warning signal by criminals to further hide the funds from investigation, judicial proceedings and (we hope) restoration of embezzled funds.

We suggest that if this court wishes to give blackred the opportunity to defend itself in court against the Emergency Asset Freeze Order, it does so after granting the order.
Since this type of court order preserves the status quo, I believe it would be less harmful to retract the order later should this court find itself convinced by blackred than to risk funds being hidden or laundered.

Reasons for Request​

The Azalea Isles Government requests the aforementioned court orders as part of an investigation into suspected Embezzlement, Criminal Fraud (under Banking Foundations Act §8.a) and Financial Institution Tax Evasion.

On March 21st, I as Minister of Economic Affairs ordered a suspension of all operations at Citadel, in addition to a fine, due to Citadel's failure to provide any of the legally mandated monthly bank reports since its registration in late December.
Two and a half hours later, we were forced to discover that 'Citadel' could no longer be found in-game, suggesting it was dissolved in response to the sanctions imposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in direct violation of the suspension order on all operations and transactions (except the fines that were supposed to be paid) and despite Citadel still having unresolved debts.

Additionally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs believes that the removal of all liquid funds from Citadel despite remaining unpaid debts towards the Government qualifies as financial insolvency, which according to the Banking Foundations Act, the Bank of Azalea and the Ministry of Economic Affairs must be notified of at least 7 days in advance.

Last known owner of Citadel, Lai Topez failed to explain these events within the time frame granted by the MEA and to date.

Authorization​

For the purposes of these court order requests, I represent both the Ministry of Economic Affairs (as Minister) and the Ministry of Justice (as Government Prosecutor with permission from the Minister of Justice).

 

[Westray]

Thank you for your filing.

At this time, the Court will not be taking any action to freeze the assets of an entity which has not been named as a defendant in a formal lawsuit. As specified in the Court Orders Procedure Act, it is noted under §2(a) that individuals may request "in their court trials" any orders related to asset preservation. While I understand that the Government of Azalea Isles has specified the emergent nature of this request, I do not find that the justification provided is sufficient enough to rationalize approving such request without a case.

There is also insufficient legal justification to suggestion that allowing an individual or entity to defend themselves in a court of law is not a "warning signal to criminals." Any entity which attempts to hide assets or delete evidence before a trial occurs is already subject to a significant degree of criminal penalties which would otherwise deter such illicit activity.

In this decision, I also draw upon precedent established through Azalea Isles v. Vanguard National Bank (2025) CV 08, which involve the government filing a lawsuit against the bank in order to obtain orders and other impositions of authority against a financial institution. It would be my suggestion, as established through both precedent and statutory law, that the government file a lawsuit with an emergency injunction to rectify this issue instead.

Therefore, unfortunately these requested court orders are respectfully denied.