Self Chain ousts CEO after allegations of involvement in $50 million crypto OTC fraud

Blockchain project Self Chain has removed founder Ravindra Kumar as CEO after users accused him of steering a months-long scheme that drained more than $50 million.

In a statement shared on Monday, the project announced a “decisive leadership transition” following Kumar's alleged association with fraudulent OTC transactions.

"Ravindra Kumar’s role as CEO has been formally terminated. He will no longer hold any position, responsibility, or association with Self Chain in any capacity going forward," said the X announcement.

Previously, Kumar dismissed the allegations as “completely false” and said his lawyers would respond.

The ponzi scheme surfaced last November. Brokers offered steeply discounted Telegram OTC deals for GRT, APT, SEI, and other tokens, and paid early buyers, luring larger deposits with assets like SUI. By May, Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun had warned that no cheap SUI allocation existed, yet money continued to flow. “Stop falling for TG scammers selling you OTC deals,” Abiodun wrote on X. Mysten Labs is the firm behind the Sui blockchain and its native crypto SUI.

Ultimately, the operator defaulted on larger sales of coins like SUI and NEAR, using new deposits to cover old promises — a textbook Ponzi scheme. 

OTC desk Aza Ventures apparently handled many of the trades. Chief executive Mohammed Waseem said a broker nicknamed “Source 1” first delivered real returns, then switched to pure crooked tactics. “Initially, Source 1 provided genuine deals. However, he later shifted entirely to Ponzi schemes,” Waseem wrote in a June 19 Telegram announcement. Later reports emerged that Kumar was Source 1, although he denied any links.

Waseem claimed that Source 1 pledged to refund victims by the end of the month. He has withheld the person's name, believing this choice offers the best chance to recover funds, yet said he will “dox” the broker if repayments fail. Aza’s CEO added that he’s working with authorities on the matter and promised not to disappear.

Berachain’s pseudonymous founder, SmokeyTheBera, stated that he had warned Aza Ventures CEO Mohammed Waseem about the Telegram OTC scam, but Waseem dismissed the alert, calling the source unreliable, according to an X post.

“Glad to see this nonsense properly being busted. My condolences to anyone who got scammed in this. Sometimes if something is too good to be true, it's just not true,” wrote SmokeyTheBera.