Self Chain Founder Denies Involvement in $50 Million OTC Scam

Ravindra Kumar, the founder of the cryptocurrency project Self Chain, has denied accusations of involvement in a fraudulent scheme that resulted in investors losing up to $50 million.

I’ve been accused of serious wrongdoing, which is completely false. My legal team and I are working on a statement to address this matter. Stay tuned for updates.

— Ravindra Kumar (@ravidsrk) June 20, 2025

“I’ve been accused of serious wrongdoing, which is completely false. My legal team and I are working on a statement to address this matter,” the entrepreneur wrote.

According to an investigation by the authors of the Altcoin Alpha account, since November 2024, offers for over-the-counter purchases of vested tokens from major projects like Aptos, Sei, Swell, Coti, and Kava with significant discounts have appeared in several Telegram groups. These involved lock-up periods of four to five months and discounts of up to 50% off the market price.

? $??? ?????? ??? ???? ???????.

?A massive OTC Scam involving SUI, Near, Axelar, Sei, and more just got exposed but no TG Channel or CT is talking about it. Jaw-dropping details! ?$GRASS $APT $ZRO $BEAM $IMX $BERA pic.twitter.com/aQS08poZvc

— Altcoin Alpha (@AltcoinAlphaOnX) June 20, 2025

Initially, the deals were genuine—investors received tokens on favorable terms, which built trust in the scheme. By February 2025, its scale expanded with the offering of coins like SUI, NEAR, GRASS, Axelar, and others. Many reinvested their funds, with the average investment exceeding $1 million.

By May, several projects had issued warnings about scams in OTC sales.

“Stop falling for the tricks of Telegram scammers selling through OTC deals. They don’t exist!” wrote Eman Abio from the SUI team.

After June 1, tokens stopped being delivered to new owners. Concerned investors received vague responses such as “the source is traveling,” “exchange issues have arisen,” or “the project is delaying KYC procedures.”

On June 19, CEO of the Indian OTC platform Aza Ventures, Mohammed Wasim, reported that his firm had unwittingly facilitated dozens of fraudulent deals in recent months.

“We were deceived. I know it’s not easy to admit… But that’s the reality,” he wrote.

According to him, the tokens for sale were offered by a broker he referred to as Source 1.

Wasim confirmed that the initial transactions went smoothly. However, the supplier then began operating a Ponzi scheme, a conclusion reached by law enforcement, whom the entrepreneur contacted.

He noted that he knows the identity of Source 1 but is not disclosing it publicly, hoping to recover funds by the end of the month. Wasim claims he has already spent all his savings compensating defrauded buyers and could not meet all demands.

“I trusted Source 1 and was misled. I trusted him so much that I invested company and personal funds,” stated the CEO of Aza Ventures.

The founder of Berachain, known as Smokey The Bera, noted that he contacted Wasim regarding the fake OTC market for the project’s tokens. However, Wasim insisted his sources were reliable and refused to cooperate.

Glad to see this nonsense properly being busted.

I tried to contact the supposed middleman (Aza Ventures) directly when people were making false accusations about a nonexistent Bera OTC.

He insisted that his sources were good, and wouldn’t cooperate with any investigation.

I… https://t.co/IEW59wFCZ2 pic.twitter.com/DlOwKDqdk8

— Smokey The Bera ?⛓ (@SmokeyTheBera) June 20, 2025

“My condolences to everyone who fell for the scam. Sometimes, if something seems too good to be true, it simply isn’t true,” concluded Smokey The Bera.

Regarding the undisclosed identity of Source 1 by the CEO of Aza Ventures, users in the comments suggested it refers to an “Indian founder of a project listed on Binance.” Kumar’s statement was considered by the community as an indirect admission that Wasim referred to him with the pseudonym.

1/ ?????? ?: Who is he ? Source 1, Ravindra Kumar just doxed himself. Ravindra posted on X: “I’ve been accused of serious wrongdoing, which is completely false. My legal team and I are working on a statement to address this matter. Stay tuned for updates.”

Ravindra is… pic.twitter.com/CEyExx3kTM

— Altcoin Alpha (@AltcoinAlphaOnX) June 20, 2025

The head of the OTC service later clarified that he has known Source 1 for over 10 years.

Earlier, India, Indonesia, and CIS countries topped the anti-rating of the MEXC exchange for fraudulent trading activity.