Citadel Securities Shifts Legal Strategy Against Portofino: Drops US Lawsuit and Pursues Personal Bankruptcy of Founder in UK

On July 8, 2026, Citadel Securities transitioned its multi-year legal campaign against crypto market maker Portofino Technologies from courtroom litigation to the asset recovery phase. Instead of continuing the trade secret misappropriation lawsuit in New York, Citadel is focusing its efforts on recovering a £6 million arbitration award by filing for a bankruptcy order against Portofino's founder in the UK.

Citadel Securities Americas LLC requested the dismissal of the lawsuit in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Citadel cited the low probability of actually enforcing or recovering any additional judgments from the defendants in the US as the primary reason for dropping the suit.

Seeking further judgment in the United States is futile. Given the defendants' financial condition, the debt is deemed uncollectible.

This decision follows a victory for Citadel at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Citadel secured approximately £6 million in damages through the London arbitration and has obtained freezing orders against the assets of co-founder Leonard Lancia and others.

UK Bankruptcy Filing Targeting the Founder Individually

Citadel is now targeting Alex Casimo, another co-founder of Portofino. Citadel has applied for a Bankruptcy Order against Casimo in the UK High Court, which is interpreted as a powerful pressure tactic to utilize personal bankruptcy proceedings to recover the arbitration award.

• ['Enforcing the payment of an unpaid arbitration debt worth £6 million', 'Investigation and recovery of the founder's personal assets through the UK High Court', 'Strengthening personal accountability for executives of crypto startups']

The conflict between the two parties began in 2023 when Lancia and Casimo left Citadel Securities to establish Portofino. At the time, Citadel filed a lawsuit claiming they had recruited colleagues and leaked trade secrets while still employed to secure $50 million in seed investment.

Portofino has countered that Citadel failed to prove the misuse of trade secrets during the London arbitration process. Portofino's legal team has described Citadel as an overly aggressive and cost-insensitive corporation, arguing that the withdrawal of the US lawsuit is an admission that Citadel's claims are groundless.

Despite the legal battle, Portofino is continuing its business operations. They maintained their public activities, such as participating in the 'Consensus 2026' conference held in Miami from May 5 to 7, 2026, to promote their liquidity infrastructure technology. Portofino has also demonstrated market resilience by continuing recruitment activities in locations such as London and Cambridge until recently.

However, Citadel's characterization of Portofino's debt as 'unrecoverable' is raising doubts about the financial health of emerging crypto market makers. This reflects market concerns over whether startups facing litigation from giant financial institutions possess sufficient capital and liquidity to handle actual judgment amounts.

Gary Summers, a lawyer for Portofino, completely denied Citadel's claims and stated that he does not agree with Citadel's framing that Lancia failed to pay the debt. It is reported that the defendants are continuing legal procedures to lift existing asset freezing orders.

Whether the UK High Court approves the bankruptcy order against Alex Casimo is expected to determine the final phase of this dispute. As Citadel has taken the strong measure of personal bankruptcy, the realistic limitations faced by crypto market makers in the face of the strict legal standards and capital power of institutional finance are being highlighted once again.