Active Investigation
Documenting $54M+ in Alleged DeFi Fraud by Azeem Ahmed
A pattern of exploitation, oracle manipulation, and investor losses spanning four projects since 2020.
A pattern of exploitation, oracle manipulation, and investor losses spanning four projects since 2020.
Azeem Ahmed is the founder of Mochi Finance, the USDM stablecoin, GaiaDAO, co-founder of Armor.fi, and alleged operator behind Yieldfarming.insure ($SAFE). Since 2020, Ahmed has been connected to at least four DeFi projects that have resulted in significant investor losses.
His social media accounts have been inactive for months. Project websites remain online but unupdated. No public response to the fraud allegations has been issued. Discord communities have been abandoned.
Ahmed's earliest known DeFi project. Users allege systematic front-running of staking rewards, extracting value from participants before the project was quietly abandoned.
DeFi insurance protocol co-founded with Robert Forster and Corey Jackson. Forster publicly accused Ahmed of stealing millions in LP tokens, mass liquidation of assets, and seizure of project social channels.
The largest exploit. Ahmed exploited a known oracle vulnerability to mint $46M in USDM, drained the Curve liquidity pool, and converted proceeds to ETH and CVX tokens. The Curve Emergency DAO intervened.
Became the vehicle for continued extraction post-Mochi. Fee structures were raised unilaterally, staking rewards diverted, liquidity pool funds misappropriated, and airdrop distributions withheld from holders.
The Dedaub audit of Mochi Finance identified a critical vulnerability in the OracleRouter.sol contract: a hardcoded oracle that lacked access controls. The finding was marked "Open/unresolved" in the audit report. Five months later, in November 2021, this exact vulnerability was exploited to mint $46M in USDM stablecoins from artificially valued MOCHI tokens.
David Chen filed suit alleging Ahmed attempted to misappropriate $1.6M related to a 1,000 ETH Nexus Mutual insurance payout. Ahmed lost the preliminary hearing and accepted an out-of-court settlement with undisclosed terms. Mochi Finance was launched within months of this settlement.
Following the November 2021 Mochi exploit, the Curve Finance Emergency DAO killed the USDM rewards gauge. This was an unprecedented action taken to prevent further damage to the Curve ecosystem from the manipulated USDM stablecoin.
Comprehensive investigation into Ahmed's pattern of alleged fraud across four DeFi projects, including the recent CVX token sale.
Syndicated coverage of the fraud allegations across four DeFi projects, featured on Binance's social platform.
Coverage of the Curve Emergency DAO halting CVX emissions to Mochi's pool after Ahmed minted MOCHI tokens to create USDM and purchase CVX voting power.
Report to the Authorities
The UK's primary financial regulator. Report financial fraud, scams, and unauthorised activity. Ahmed is a UK citizen, making the FCA the primary regulatory authority.
File a complaint at fca.org.uk →The UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Reports are assessed and referred to the relevant police force for criminal investigation.
Report at actionfraud.police.uk →The UK's lead agency against organised crime. Handles serious and complex fraud, money laundering, and cybercrime with cross-border dimensions.
Visit nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk →Regulates securities markets and enforces federal securities laws. File a tip about potential securities fraud, unregistered token offerings, or market manipulation.
File a complaint at sec.gov →Prosecutes federal crimes including wire fraud, money laundering, and RICO violations. Report criminal activity related to cryptocurrency fraud.
Report a crime at justice.gov →The FBI's dedicated portal for reporting internet-enabled crimes including cryptocurrency fraud, investment scams, and cyber-enabled financial crimes.
File a complaint at ic3.gov →The jurisdiction where the Chen v. Ahmed lawsuit was filed. U.S. Attorney's Office covering San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Visit justice.gov/usao-ndca →Combats money laundering and financial crimes. Reports suspicious activity involving cryptocurrency transactions and illicit fund flows.
Visit fincen.gov →Regulates derivatives markets and has jurisdiction over crypto assets classified as commodities. Report digital asset manipulation or deceptive trading.
File a complaint at cftc.gov →The EU's law enforcement agency. Coordinates cross-border investigations into organised crime, cybercrime, and financial fraud across European member states.
Report at europol.europa.eu →Facilitates international police cooperation. Can issue Red Notices and coordinate cross-border investigations into financial crime and fraud.
Contact interpol.int →Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office. Investigates cross-border financial crimes, money laundering, and fraud involving German entities or residents.
Visit bka.de →The Netherlands' Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service. Investigates tax fraud, money laundering, and financial crimes with Dutch connections.
Visit fiod.nl →If you lost funds through Mochi Finance, Armor.fi, GaiaDAO, or Yieldfarming.insure, your experience matters. Get in touch to document your losses and support ongoing investigations.
Share Your Experience →