OpenSea, a prominent nonfungible token (NFT) platform, has come forward to address allegations circulating on social media regarding a former employee’s potential involvement in the notorious AnubisDAO rug pull of 2021.
The accusations were raised in a tweet on X (previously Twitter) by the anonymous account NFT Ethics, which tagged OpenSea and asked for their response to claims connecting their former head of ventures, Kevin Pawlak, to the pseudonymous identity “0xSisyphus” and alleged dubious business dealings.
1/ Dear @OpenSea, what do you think of the fact that your Head of Ventures, Kevin Pawlak, has been involved in various very dubious business dealings (e.g. Anubis) and pump & dump schemes under his pseudonymous identity @0xSisyphus (& 0xMagellan)? pic.twitter.com/GzIVLJirLE
— NFT Ethics (@NFTethics) October 6, 2023
Accusations detailed by NFT Ethics and Lookonchain
NFT Ethics along with blockchain analytics account Lookonchain argued that 0xSisyphus, and consequently Kevin Pawlak, played a significant role in promoting the AnubisDAO project to investors. This promotion allegedly occurred just before the project moved the funds it had raised to various external wallets.
The Tweet by NFT Ethics suggested that Pawlak’s involvement in the AnubisDAO rug pull was preplanned and that the ill-gotten proceeds were subsequently laundered through the meme cryptocurrency Pepe (PEPE).
Related Article: FBI charges former OpenSea employee for insider trading
OpenSea’s response
OpenSea, in response to these allegations, asserted that they were unaware of any such involvement by Pawlak in any illicit activities. The company emphasized that Kevin Pawlak’s role within OpenSea was of a “limited scope” and that the projects in question had occurred before his tenure with the company. A spokesperson from OpenSea stated:
“Kevin is a former employee who departed in June 2023. He held a non-management position with limited responsibilities during his time at OpenSea. We do not know about his association with the projects in question.”
The AnubisDAO scandal first unfolded in October 2021 when the project successfully raised 13,556 ETH, equivalent to $60 million at the time, from cryptocurrency investors. However, investors suffered a substantial loss when, approximately 20 hours later, the funds were transferred to multiple wallet addresses.
Source: ‘X’ (Twitter) Blockchain investigator’s perspective
ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, raised doubts about the accusations against 0xSisyphus, calling them “mid-curve” and noting the lack of substantial evidence. Additionally, 0xSisyphus offered a 1,000 ETH reward to identify the responsible wallet address and involved law enforcement agencies in the US and Hong Kong, adding uncertainty to the claims.
ZachXBT clarified that while 0xSisyphus may be guilty of negligence with the Anubis team multi-sig, there’s no evidence of personal profit. Speculation also emerged about law enforcement closely monitoring 0xSisyphus’s activities.
The primary suspects in the AnubisDAO scandal remain pseudonymous users known as “Beerus” and “Ersan.”
Earlier, a similar report published by Todayq News on May 4, 2023, revealed that former OpenSea product manager Nathaniel Chastain was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an insider trading scheme involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs). He had allegedly used insider information to purchase NFTs and sold them shortly after, making an illicit profit of over $50,000.
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