Less than two weeks before the third-ever Bitcoin Halving, Micree Ketuan Zhan, the ousted co-founder and chairman of Bitmain, received a partial legal victory in the Beijing Haidian District Bureau of Justice.
The Bureau reversed a decision from January 2nd, which allowed current CFO Luyao Liu to replace CEO Jihan Wu as the registered legal representative of the Beijing branch.
The leading Bitcoin mining firm’s leadership issues have been going on for years now. They took a dramatic turn in 2019 when Jihan Wu stepped down as co-CEO of the company following a failed IPO attempt. Thus, Micree Ketuan Zhan assumed full control.
Later the same year, however, Wu sent an internal email announcing that Zhan had been ousted, and he regained the position as the sole CEO.
Following his removal, Zhan began attempts to reclaim some power in his previous company. In December, he filed a summons asking a Cayman Islands court to reverse a prior decision by shareholders, which reduced his voting right of the firm.
Earlier this week, the Beijing Haidian District Bureau of Justice sided with Zhan on another dispute. In February 2020, he appeared a decision allowing CFO Luyao Liu to be registered as the legal representative for the Beijing Branch. Instead, he wanted the position for himself, arguing that he used to occupy it before his departure.
The statement from Bitmain informed that the Bureau granted his latest request. Despite gaining a victory in this particular case, Zhan has not been registered as the legal representative. So far, the decision only means that Liu has been blocked from serving in that position.
Wu is the registered representative now, but Bitmain believes that Liu would “improve internal management efficiency.”
The company criticized the Bureau’s attempt to interfere in its internal management processes and referred to the decision as “disappointing.” Bitmain claimed that the Bureau has violated corporate laws and plans to “file a lawsuit against the Bureau to protect our company, shareholders, and employees.”
The statement also clarified that even if registered, Zhan will not play a substantial role in the firm:
“Bitmain Beijing is only one of the more than ten subsidiaries of Bitmain. Even if Micree Zhan is mistakenly registered as the legal representative of Bitmain Beijing, it will not have a significant impact on the normal operation of Bitmain inside and outside of China.”