Fintoch, a DeFi protocol that provides P2P lending and investment services, has absconded with $31.6 million in cryptocurrencies owned by investors in what appears to be an exit scam.
Several tweets from Fintoch users who were unable to withdraw their assets confirmed suspicions that the platform had vanished with investors’ funds.
Fintoch Rug Pulls Users
ZachXBT, a Web3 expert and on-chain analyst, announced the rug pull on Twitter on Tuesday. He suggested that the team behind Fintoch had scammed users on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
Zach revealed that on May 22, around 12:58 pm UTC, Fintoch transferred $31.6 million worth of USDT to several addresses on the Tron and Ethereum networks. This move caused concern among investors as they reported difficulties withdrawing their assets.
Several users flocked to the comment section of Fintoch’s last tweet, posted on May 23, demanding an explanation. However, the platform remained silent on the withdrawal issue, and anyone who tried to contact the company via customer support received automated responses.
A Ponzi Scheme?
Fintoch promised investors a 1% daily ROI and claimed to be affiliated with Morgan Stanley. However, Morgan Stanley denied any association with Fintoch, stating that the DeFi protocol had used its trademark without authorization. The financial services firm distanced itself from any responsibility regarding transactions or results that may arise from Fintoch.
Moreover, the Monetary Authority of Singapore added Fintoch to its Investor Alert List recently. The list included firms that “may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or in any other way authorized or regulated by MAS.”
Meanwhile, Zach argued that Bob Lambert, the CEO of Fintoch as stated on the platform’s website, does not exist and is a paid actor.
