Ava Labs CEO Gün Sirer terms CryptoLeaks claims as ‘scurrilous lies’

Ava Labs CEO Gün Sirer terms CryptoLeaks claims as ‘scurrilous lies’

By Benson Toti - min read

Ava Labs founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer has termed a controversial report by CryptoLeaks as “an obvious fraud” that “everyone should be able to see right through.”

Gün Sirer says the allegations are disheartening and noted that they have come from “false claims” by Ava Labs’ former lawyer Kyle Roche. According to him, Kyle had lied to one of his potential clients about the nature of what he did for Ava Labs – all in an attempt to impress.

He maintains his company has not engaged in any of the activities as alleged by CryptoLeaks.

The allegations on this site are categorically false. Ava Labs believes in transparency and facing the world head-on, not through behind-the-scenes dealing or activity,” he said in a statement shared on Monday.

Ava Labs had a ‘secret pact’?

In a recent report CryptoLeaks claimed it had damning “spy video” and whistleblower information that showed how Ava Labs, the firm behind the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain, had engaged in a conspiracy against its rivals.

According to the site, there existed a “secret pact” between Ava Labs and lawyer Kyle Roche of the Roche Freedman LLP firm. Through this pact, Roche would exploit the US legal system in a “gangster style” approach by bringing targeted lawsuits against Ava Labs and Avalanche competitors.

Some of the alleged lawsuits include those against Solana Labs, Bibox and Dfinity Foundation.

The cases were also meant to have the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) among other regulators distracted, keeping them off Ava Labs’ operations.

It was also alleged Roche was filing cases with the aim of gaining access to sensitive documents from Ava Labs rivals and other crypto industry players. For his role, Roche ostensibly secured 1% of the AVAX supply.

No such underhand tactics

Gün Sirer has hit out at all these allegations, maintaining that his company does not “engage in or support” such underhanded tactics as claimed by CryptoLeaks. Refuting the allegations made in both the report and the video clips, he noted: 

Neither I, nor anyone else at Ava Labs ever directed Roche in his selection of cases. We do not receive materials or information from him, and we do not entrust our legal affairs to him.”