Afrigather Astrotwig, a Nigerian platform that mixes music streaming with social networking, claims that it misplaced $20,000 to Mr. Simon Tiwari, an angel investor who provided to speculate a convertible mortgage of $1 million of their pre-seed spherical.
The fledgling startup stated it raised the cash from loans from associates and households. They’re presently working a crowdfunding marketing campaign to repay our lenders or in any other case face authorized motion. On the time the corporate issued a public assertion, they’d raised about ₦345,000 ($227).
After an investigation of the rip-off, which the corporate claims occurred on February 10, Samuel Adeleke, the CEO of the corporate, stepped down.
Adeleke said he got here in touch with the investor after he put out a Twitter put up about in search of a $500,000–$1,000,000 SAFE funding.
The angel investor claimed to have seen Astrotwig at a MIDEM pitch occasion and provided to speculate all the $1 million they had been looking for for our pre-seed spherical as a convertible mortgage.
“Subsequently, due diligence was carried out, and the required documentation was signed. The agreed-upon funding was scheduled to be obtained on Sunday, February 11, 2024,” the general public put up learn.
Each events determined to switch stated funding through Bitcoin. ” as a result of unstable international trade state of affairs in Nigeria.”
In line with Adeleke’s put up, the corporate was instructed by the investor to ship a check transaction of $20,000 in Bitcoin as collateral to facilitate the switch of the $1 million mortgage. They reportedly pooled took loans from family and friends, to satisfy this request.
Adeleke and his cofounder deposited the money in a newly created cryptocurrency pockets, however upon Tiwari’s insistence, the funds had been moved to a Mycelium pockets, which he claimed was the popular platform for investments. Mycelium Pockets is a non-custodial pockets that enables customers to keep up a excessive degree of anonymity by veiling particulars like IP addresses, which can be utilized to hint gadgets.
He additionally supplied a QR code for the check switch to be made.
“As instructed, a small check transaction of $19 was despatched, however upon scanning the supplied QR code, $19,300 was instantly deducted from our pockets.” The corporate claims that it was solely at that second that they realised that it was a “ refined rip-off.”
Astrotwig has now changed the CEO, who dealt with many of the interactions. An official police report has been filed relating to the incident.
Adeleke, who can also be a remaining yr pupil on the Nigerian college, the Federal College of Akure, co-founded the social music streaming app together with his associates, Ajibola Disu and Oluwaseun John. The app permits customers to share what they’re listening to, and host listening events and music discussions on-line. It additionally permits individuals to put up clips of songs and their opinions about them.
Astrotwig, which claimed to have somewhat over a thousand customers registered on its waitlist, launched a Beta model of the app in July 2023. Since its launch, the corporate has not made any posts in regards to the platform till this announcement in regards to the rip-off.
This can be a creating story.
