Nexo, a cryptocurrency lending platform, has responded to what it calls “fake news.” Rumors of a Nexo charity embezzlement scandal had come to light, which it claims are untrue and defamatory.
“Several anonymous Twitter accounts are using lies and distortion in yet another smear campaign against Nexo and profiting from short positions in a distressed market,” Nexo said in a blog post.
It has sent the person who first made the accusations a public cease-and-desist notice.
Twitter user exposes alleged Nexo charity embezzlement
On June 25, “Otter,” the user of the @otteroooo Twitter handle, said in a series of tweets that the co-founders of Nexo had stolen money from the Bulgarian charity HelpKarma to purchase real estate and pay for “lavish personal travel.”
Otter’s main charge is that “Konsta Kanchev” the creator of HelpKarma and co-founder of Nexo, utilized donations to help build a palace rather than using the money for children’s medical care.
Another key allegation Otter makes is that Credissimo began to record huge increases in its capital when HelpKarma’s donations increased, citing a November 2020 report by Fakti, implying that the donations were used to finance Credissimo.
The post drew a considerable audience on Twitter, with Otter tweeting a screenshot showing that it had had over 9 million impressions, causing Nexo to respond to the “ludicrous allegations” and send the cease and desist warning.
Nexo hits back
Nexo responded by pointing out that there is no such person as “Konsta Kanchev” and that Otter created the name on purpose “to mimic a typo as an excuse to fact-checkers” by conflating two different individuals, HelpKarma founder Constantine Krastev and Nexo co-founder Kosta Kantchev.
According to Nexo, there “have not and never have been any common operations, common beneficial owners, or common management” between them and HelpKarma.
Nexo believes Otter did the allegations mostly in order to build a large following and sell the account.