Financial institution of Hodlers was an Indian “blockchain primarily based finance firm” created by Darshan Bathija in 2018.
BehindMLM reviewed Financial institution of Hodlers in June 2019, concluding it was a easy shit token exit-scam MLM crypto Ponzi.
Financial institution of Hodlers went on to break down in 2021, prompting Bathija to drop MLM and reboot as Vauld.
Vauld solicited funding, primarily from Indian residents, on the promise of as much as 40% yearly on varied cryptocurrencies.
On July 4th 2022, Bathija suspended Vauld withdrawals, successfully collapsing the Ponzi scheme (once more).
To keep away from admitting Vauld ran out of invested funds to pay withdrawals, Bathija cited “unstable market circumstances” and “monetary challenges”.
Bathija claims Vauld traders withdrew $197.7 million all through June 2022. Sounds to me just like the inevitable “withdrawals exceeded new funding” Ponzi end-game.
Whereas Bathija relies out of India, Vauld, like Financial institution of Hodlers, is ready up as a Singapore shell firm. Singapore has a poor historical past of regulating offshore securities fraud.
Sadly, moderately than simply admit his rebooted Ponzi scheme collapsed once more, Bathija (proper) is pretending Vauld is a reliable firm with choices;
(Vauld) has engaged the providers of Kroll as its monetary advisor, and authorized companies Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP in India and Singapore, respectively.
“We imagine it will assist facilitate our exploration of the suitability of potential restructuring choices, along with our monetary and authorized advisors.
We search the understanding of the shoppers of the Vauld platform that we’ll not be ready to course of any new or additional requests or directions on this regard.
Particular preparations will probably be made for buyer deposits vital for sure clients to fulfill margin calls in reference to collateralised loans,” Bathija wrote.
Similarweb tracks 55% of holiday makers to Vauld’s web site as originating from India. The US is the second largest supply of site visitors, coming in at 14%.
Citing court docket paperwork filed in Singapore (Vauld has filed for cover in opposition to its traders there), Decrypt pegs Vauld’s identified property at “round $330 million”.
The issue is there’s solely $287.7 million backing this quantity. And the longer the Ponzi scheme runs, the bigger that discrepancy will get.
Whereas Singaporean authorities are unlikely to do something concerning the rip-off, Indian authorities have frozen Rs. 370 crore of Vauld’s property ($46.4 million USD).
In a press-release response to the enforcement motion, Vauld labelled the freeze “unlucky”.
We comply with strict KYC necessities in each nation, together with India. We’re searching for authorized recommendation on our greatest plan of action with a purpose to defend the pursuits of the corporate, its clients, and all of the stakeholders.
KYC isn’t an alternative choice to registering with monetary regulators and submitting audited monetary report. I personally pointed this out to Bathija himself again in June 2019.
The alternate was prompted by Bathija labelling BehindMLM’s correct evaluation of Financial institution of Hodlers being a Ponzi scheme, as “nugatory clickbait that’s not researched properly in any respect.”
Apart from Twitter, which he not often makes use of, Bathija has locked down his social media profiles. Whether or not he’s nonetheless in India or has fled is unclear.