Another highly value startup has been added to the mix of ongoing legal drama between Rippling and Deel: UK Fintech Giant Revolut.
Ireland’s wavy employee Keith O’Brien claimed in his blockbuster affidavit reading as if he was straight from the film that he was paid about $6,000 a month to spy on the ripples. He claimed that the initial $6,000 payment was sent to his turnover account in November 2024 by Alba Basha Westgers, wife of Deal’s COO Dan Westgers.
At the time, Alba Basha Westgers worked as a lead at Robinhood for Crypto Compliance, according to a later deleted TechCrunch reviewed LinkedIn profile. Robinhood told TechCrunch that he left Robinhood earlier this year but did not give details on why.
The deleted LinkedIn profile lists her location as Dubai. This is the same location known as a handover shelter when Deel’s CEO and legal director is now trying to provide a rippling paper.
Rippling is currently suing Revolut to obtain the full name and address of “Alba Basha,” listed as the sender of that $6,000 receipt, court records show. Rippling also asks for all account opening documents, including ID and utility bills, to clearly verify her identity.
In response, Revolut hired a top Ireland lawyer. I also sent a letter last week in response to the ripples. Ripples’ lawyer explained that the court hearing was described as “helpful but complicated.”
To be clear, there are no indications or accusations that Revolut has done anything wrong here. The EU has strict privacy laws, so providing that kind of information is not easy, especially in civil cases like this. The key point is that there was no order from the Irish Court of Revolut itself to provide information.
Revolut declined to comment specifically on the case, but generally told TechCrunch that he would “always follow the request of a court order for disclosure.”
It remains to be seen whether Revolut is due to provide details about the “Alba Basha” behind the transfer. The only other option under European privacy law is customer consent, which appears unlikely in this case.
Deal, which denied all fraudulent conduct in the media, did not respond to requests for comment. Deal Ku Dan Westgarth and Alba Basha Westgarth also did not respond. Ripples declined to comment.
The evidence is still inconclusive, but the Irish High Court has given us clues that Ripling’s desire to somehow verify Alba Basha’s identity.
During the court hearing on April 2, the lawyer who wavyed evidence linking Albabasha and Dan Westgarth, including Facebook photos of the two, said Judge Mark Sunfee “it could be a coincidence, but it’s not likely.”
Source link
