Twitter User Accuses Nexo of Embezzlement Through Charity, Crypto Lender Denies Allegations

A Twitter account has accused the Bulgarian co-founder of Swiss-based cryptocurrency lender Nexo of misappropriating funds from the charity platform. The company has rejected the allegations in an anonymous attack, which came after Nexo offered a takeover deal to troubled rival Celsius.

Anonymous allegations against the co-founder were circulated on social media

A Twitter user going by the handle @otteroooo drew attention to media reports of misuse of charitable donations allegedly related to the people behind Nexo, a leading provider of crypto-backed loans. In athreadpublished Sunday, the unidentified author accused Nexo co-founder Kosta Kantchev and his family of siphoning money fromsiphoning money from the Helpkarmafoundation, which raises funds for various goodwill causes. Another two co-founders, Antoni Trenchev and Georgi Shulev, former MPs and managing partners of Nexo, are mentioned as well.

Otteroooo cites reports by two Bulgarian websites, Bird.bg (Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data) and Lupa.bg (another investigative reporting agency). spring 2018, the first one found that Kosta’s father, Kalin Kantchev, had been installed on Helpkarma’s management committee, and the second found that as Helpkarma’s donations piled up, the platform featured in the Nexo white paper to power the crypto project

established that Credissimo, an instant loan provider, had begun reporting capital increases.

One allegation is that the donated money was used to purchase real estate and fund personal travel. Another is that the charity gave huge salaries and commissions to management and staff, the total of which exceeded the 5% cap on such expenses, and that it wrote large invoices to affiliated companies. Help Karma retained a portion of the donations it received to fund its operations; Kosta Kantchev is presented as the beneficial owner of both Nexo and Credissimo.

Nexo sues Otaf for defamation, files cease-and-desist order

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35}In a blog post, Nexo named the Twitter rant “clickbait fake news” and called it the “latest attack,” calling it “the latest attack” on the company. It also wants to refute “ludicrous claims for the sake of transparency and clarity,” which includes highlighting certain inconsistencies. For example, Nexo points out that the man in the photo called “Konsta Kanchev” is not actually Nexo co-founder Kosta Kanchev, but Constantine Krastev, founder and chairman of Helpkarma.

Nexo also claims that the purpose of the entire venture was to monetize with followers.” A self-proclaimed “crypto patriot” is trying to sell his profile for the right price, in an instant, as reported to Nexo by the person who tried to buy the account,” the lender said, sharing a screenshot of a conversation with @otteroooo.

Bulgaria’s leading bTV channelreported in Decemberthat Krastev had been charged with embezzlement as Sofia prosecutors continued to work on the case, more than a year after launching their own investigation into the Helpkarma saga.

“Nexo and the Bulgarian non-profit charity accused of fraud do not have and never have had common operations, common beneficiaries, or common administrators,” the crypto platform claimed. It also issued acease and desist orderagainst the unidentified individual or group behind the tweets, stating that “the malicious spread of inaccurate, false, and unsubstantiated information … . with the sole intent to discredit, defame, and discredit Nexo,” and condemned them.

In addition to offering crypto-backed loans, Nexo offers customers a way to earn interest on their crypto holdings. According to its website, the company has $12 billion in assets under management and 4 million users in various jurisdictions. Its platform currently supports nearly 40 cryptocurrencies.

Earlier in June, Nexo announced that it had offered to purchase the assets of competitor Celsius Network, which is reportedly being investigated by US regulators regarding its decision to freeze its exit. Last week, Nexo announced that it had hired Citigroup to advise it on a deal to acquire another crypto lender. According to crypto media reports, U.S. banking giant Goldman Sachs is also a potential buyer of Celsius’ distressed assets.

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