Raees Cajee, the co-founder of South African crypto investment platform AfriCrypt, has denied claims after it was reported that he and his brother ran off with billions in investor funds. Instead, he asserted that the platform lost $5 million in a hack. As reported previously, AfriCrypt, an asset manager purporting to offer daily returns of up to 10% that launched in 2019, had been accused of disappearing with 69,000 BTC of investor funds in a mysterious exploit.
AfriCrypt had notified users of the hack.
Though AfriCrypt had notified users of the hack on April 13, it raised suspicions among customers as the message urged investors to avoid taking legal action as it would slow down the recovery of the funds. Shortly thereafter, the brothers reportedly halted AfriCrypt’s operations and went missing. However, speaking with The Wall Street Journal on June 28, Raees sought to clarify the accusations laid against AfriCrypt and its co-founders, asserting the pair went into hiding after receiving death threats from some “very, very dangerous people.”
Africrypt founder rejected claims that $3.6 billion in funds is missing.
Africrypt founder also rejected claims that $3.6 billion in funds is missing, asserting the firm only managed $200 million during its peak in April and that only $5 million in investor funds are unaccounted for after the hack. “At the height of the market, we were managing just over $200 million,” Raees said. However, Hanekom Attorneys, the law firm representing AfriCrypt’s customers, has alleged that founders transferred $3.6 billion worth of BTC from AfriCrypt’s accounts and client wallets before moving the funds through “various dark web tumblers and mixers” to prevent the funds from being traced further.
