According to Foresight News, Richard Sanders, the founder of blockchain investigation firm CipherBlade, has filed a lawsuit accusing the new management of stealing his company's assets, forging signatures, and stealing documents related to business registration from his home. Sanders claims that during his voluntary participation in a cryptocurrency-related investigation in Ukraine in 2022, the new management made significant false statements to gain access to his account, stealing trade secrets in the form of confidential investigation information, client leads, and client information, and redirecting clients to an entity in Alaska and another in Singapore.

CipherBlade refuted Sanders' allegations in a LinkedIn post on Monday afternoon. The company stated that Sanders was never an owner and said that he 'ceased active involvement in CipherBlade's operations throughout 2022 and effectively stopped this involvement altogether when he moved to Ukraine in early 2023 to carry out a personal philanthropic mission.' CipherBlade aims to assist federal government agencies, private companies, and individuals in investigating financial crimes, with a focus on cybercrime.