Payward seeks Delaware enforcement of $22M award vs Mazars

The parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has secured a $22 million arbitration award against its former auditor, Mazars USA, and is now asking a Delaware court to enforce the judgment. Payward Inc. announced the legal action on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, following a confidential arbitration process that found Mazars liable for damages after it abruptly withdrew from a nearly completed audit of Kraken’s 2022 financial statements.

According to Payward, Mazars resigned from the audit engagement in December 2023, just days before finishing its work. The accounting firm stated in writing that it had found no fraud, had no disagreements with Kraken’s management, and had no concerns about the company’s integrity. Payward executives argue the withdrawal was instead driven by regulatory pressure, pointing to a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed against Kraken in November 2023. That SEC case was later dismissed with prejudice in March 2025, with no penalties or admission of wrongdoing by the exchange.

The arbitrator, a retired judge, awarded Payward $22 million, finding that Mazars’ departure caused significant financial harm. Of that total, $12.5 million was...