A Twitter user under the handle otteroooo published a thread accusing Nexo’s co-founders of stealing funds from the Help Karma, a children’s charity fund. The crypto-lending platform threatened him with legal action.
NEXO FOUNDER & FAMILY SIPHONED FUNDS FROM CHARITY FOR SICK KIDS, USED DONATIONS AS PERSONAL SLUSH FUND, EVEN BUILT A PALACE FOR THEMSELVES
Evidences presented in full by otter below
no bueno!
🦦 👇🏼 🧵 🦦
— otteroooo (@otteroooo) June 26, 2022
In a series of tweets, otteroooo claimed that Nexo was founded by Kosta Kanchev, Antoni Trenchev and Georgi Shulev. He noted their links to the Bulgarian microfinance company Credissimo.
All three of our well connected Nexo co-founders Bulgarian boys were Directors in Credissimo too
Source: Nexo’s whitepaper pic.twitter.com/1VkV6UfHMt
— otteroooo (@otteroooo) June 26, 2022
The author cited Bulgarian investigative journalists, who in 2020 reported misallocation of donations from the Help Karma children’s charity fund. Earlier, according to reporters, the father of Kosta Kanchev served on the board of the organization. The thread’s author drew a parallel with the appointment and the first Nexo ICO.
What @BIRDbg2 discovered was on March 2018, Kalin Kanchev, father of Kosta Kanchev (Bulgarian boy 1) was installed on the Management Board of HelpKarma
Coincidentally, March 2018 was when Nexo first ICO was conducted
— otterooo (@otteroooo) June 26, 2022
Otteroooo cited another investigative news outlet, which allegedly found connections between Help Karma and Credissimo.
It gets worse, it gets way way worsehttps://t.co/QtO9J8708B another investigative news outlet in Bulgaria, found that as HelpKarma’s donations piled in, Credissimo & CredissimoSuper (same shareholders) starts to report huge increases in its capital!https://t.co/q7Tdrwjltr
— otteroooo (@otteroooo) June 26, 2022
As of writing, the first tweet had more than 4,000 likes and 1,500 retweets. According to otteroooo’s account data, it was created in March 2022.
In response, Nexo representatives published a rebuttal, where they called the publications a “defamatory campaign” against the platform. The firm provided a breakdown of the thread, and pointed to inconsistencies, including confusion over names and personas.
According to Nexo, one of the thread’s aims was financial gain. As proof, it presented a screenshot of a chat with otteroooo, where an unknown user allegedly offered the owner of the account a deal to buy the account.
Along with the refutation, the platform threatened to sue the user and demanded the removal of “all comments, statements, reviews and publications” that tarnish its reputation.
«Please note that we always defend our rights and interests by all available legal means, and our US and UK counsel are currently preparing a lawsuit, which will be filed immediately in court on all facts of humiliation and defamation», — the statement says.
The thread appeared amid ongoing problems at Celsius Network. On June 13 the firm paused withdrawals, exchanges and transfers between accounts “due to extreme market conditions”. On the same day Nexo stated readiness to buy Celsius’ lending portfolio from its competitor.
In addition to Nexo, Celsius’s assets attracted Chainge Finance and Goldman Sachs. Co-founder of online investment platform BnkToTheFuture Simon Dixon proposed a rescue plan for the lending service, and later asked Nexo to connect with his team. He stressed that together the parties could offer a better solution.
In June, Nexo CEO Antoni Trenchev compared the crisis in the crypto market to the 1907 banking panic and noted that more successful players must come to the aid of their colleagues in an effort to prevent the industry’s collapse.
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