Exclusive: Brine.fi Founders, Elevation Capital In Dock Over NCLT Petition On IP Theft, Crypto Syphoning

The cofounder and ousted chief business officer (CBO) of cryptocurrency trading platform LetsKrypto, Vaibhav Shukla, has moved the NCLT against the cofounders of cryptocurrency trading platform Brine.fi and investor Elevation Capital, accusing them of stealing and syphoning off key assets, including cryptocurrencies, user data and intellectual property, of parent Inventphile Ventures Pvt Ltd.

In a petition to the tribunal (NCLT), Shukla has accused them of illegally transferring Inventphile Ventures’ assets to BRS Tech Service, the British Virgin Islands-based parent of Brine.fi.

“Brine.fi CEO Shaaran Lakshminarayanan, along with his two cofounders Bhavesh Praveen and Ritumbara Bhatnagar, and other investors, including Elevation Capital, have illegally tried to oust Vaibhav Shukla, siphoned/dissipated the funds of the company (Lets Krypto) and diverted the money into competing assets violating the shareholder agreements. The Respondents (Shaaran, Elevation Capital and others) have also stolen valuable Intellectual Property (IP) of the company, transferring the same into competing entities for their personal advantage,” the petition said.

Inc42 has reviewed the petition filed by Shukla. The case will be heard by an NCLT Delhi bench on April 2, 2024.

Shukla, in his petition, alleged misappropriation of Inventphile Ventures’ funds, misuse of its sensitive data, IP theft and illegal transfer of cryptocurrencies to a few shell companies, allegedly incorporated by Shaaran and his associates within and outside India.

Shaaran and the two cofounders have relocated to Dubai. Shukla added that the US-based asset management company, Pantera Capital, also signed a term sheet to invest $10 Mn in Inventphile Ventures in April 2022. However, Pantera, along with other existent investors of Inventphile, invested in Brine.fi, as per the NCLT petition.

Amid all these, Shukla has received an interim order in his favour from the Delhi High Court, dated December 12, 2023, which observes that Brine.fi CEO and cofounder Shaaran and two cofounders, Praveen and Bhatnagar, infringed upon the copyrights of Inventphile Ventures to use the name ‘Brine’ and its logo for their new venture. 

Inc42 has seen the Delhi High Court interim order.

Meanwhile, Brine.fi has now been renamed to tanX.fi, according to its website. Inc42 has reached out to Elevation Capital, Brine.fi CEO Shaaran and Bhatnagar for their comments on the matter. The story will be updated upon receiving their response. 

What Sparked The Feud?

Shukla, along with Shaaran, initially conceptualised floating a centralised cryptocurrency trading platform in India in 2020, amid the crypto boom. 

They onboarded a few angel investors in 2022, and both Shukla and Shaaran held a 28% stake in Inventphile Ventures. Later Elevation Capital invested nearly $1 Mn in a seed round in the company for a 22% stake (June 2021).

While Shaaran was the CEO of LetsKrypto, Shukla was its CBO. Shaaran also hired Bhatnagar and Praveen to help him develop the UI/ UX of LetsKrypto app, as per the NCLT petition. 

However, after Elevation Capital invested money into the company, Shukla alleged, in his petition, that a conspiracy was hatched to oust him on the ground that he was misusing the company’s funds and failing to perform his professional duties. 

Shukla added that he was also trying to onboard a few other investors and they had floated a Singapore subsidiary of Inventphile Ventures.

“Inventphile had also signed a term sheet with US-based firm Pantera for the investment of $10 Mn dated April 3, 2022. However, the applicant Shukla was illegally terminated from the company by issuing a showcause notice against him and later the money was infused into another company BRS Tech Services, which currently runs the platform Brine.fi,” as per Shukla’s petition.

The petition also states that Shaaran, along with Elevation Capital, also tried reaching out for a settlement with Shukla for a mere INR 2 Lakh, which was turned down by the latter. 

Shukla also demanded information on cryptocurrencies and the company’s financials from Shaaran, however, the same was denied to him, per the petition.

The NCLT petition added that there have been illegal transfers of company assets, cryptocurrencies, and employees to at least four new subsidiaries floated by Shaaran and his two cofounders, which violates the Articles of the Association at Inventphile Ventures.

Meanwhile, the Shaaran-led venture has reportedly crossed a $100 Mn valuation with recent Series A fundraise. In September 2023, Brine.fi raised $16 Mn in its Series A round, which was led by Pantera Capital. The round also saw the participation of Elevation Capital, Starkware Ltd., Spartan Capital, Goodwater Capital, Upsparks Ventures, Protofund Ventures and several angel investors. 

Brine.fi’s fundraise came at a time when the company claimed to be processing monthly volumes of $300 Mn and ranked among the top 10 DEXs (decentralised exchanges) globally.