Former Worldcoin Employee Claims Violation Of Law

Nadir Hajarabi, claims to have worked for Worldcoin (photo: screenshot/ary/voi.id)

JAKARTA - A person who calls himself Nadir Hajarabi, who claims to have worked for Worldcoin, has filed allegations that the human identity verification project may have committed illegal acts during his tenure.

In a YouTube video on August 23, Hajarabi said that he witnessed "very doubtful" activities in Worldcoin, including "article and/or illegal" matters before finally leaving the project before the launch of the token on July 24. They claim that the organization detained some of their payments and had spoken with authorities in different jurisdictions as part of an investigation into Worldcoin.

Worldcoin is a botched operation ran by crooked bozos pushing an anti-democratic and financially abusive agenda under the guise of cookie-cutter inclusivity.Also, they owe me money. pic.twitter.com/ZQAUhrwpmy

— Nadir Hajarabi (@NadirHajarabi) August 25, 2023

Worldcoin is a botched operation by cropped bozos pushing an anti-democratic and financially abusive agenda under the guide of cookies-cutter inclusivity. Also, they gibbe me money. pic.twitter.com/ZQAUhrwpmy

According to Hajarabi, the Worldcoin project has "terrible executions," which involved angular cuts before the release of its white paper, and they have seen signs of danger "from day one." They said they had contacted Worldcoin CEO and the organization's legal team, but did not receive satisfactory answers regarding the alleged mismatch between the mission and the execution of the project.

"I haven't been paid for my hard work and tiring during ETHCC and ETH Global because I started asking questions," Hajarabi told Cointelegraph. "It's unfair and I wouldn't be threatened with being silent and financially exploited. Even though my reach is limited, I will speak for what I deserve [...] a company pretending to settle financial injustice should not cause financial losses to workers."

Cointelegraph cannot independently verify Hajarabi's claim, which includes the provision of "special services" to the company. A photo posted on X (formerly Twitter) appears to show them along with one of the project's slice recognition balls.

Their YouTube channel, created in September 2013, features only one video, containing allegations against Worldcoin. The X account, which appears to be controlled by the same individual, posted a photo of the identification of ETHGlobal Paris under the name Hajarabi and affiliated with Worldcoin.

The LinkedIn Hajarabi page appears to be connected to the same individual in the YouTube video a Parisian with experience in non-fungible tokens, Web3 projects, and smart contracts. Cointelegraph has tried to contact Worldcoin for comment but has not received a response until the time of publication.

The Worldcoin project begins with the intention of distinguishing real humans from bots by providing retinal scans for identity verification through an recognition ball. There were more than 2 million registrations before the launch of the Worldcoin token in July.

Prior to the launch of the Worldcoin token and its verification process, many people inside and outside the crypto space criticized the project, citing privacy concerns over user data.

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision reportedly began investigating Worldcoin in November 2022, while the French National Commission on Information and Liberty reportedly called its data collection method "durrent." Information Commissioner's Office in the UK has also raised similar concerns about the project.

In August, Kenya's internal security minister announced that the country would suspend local Worldcoin operations until authorities had the opportunity to assess potential risks for citizens, which reportedly included raids and seizures of organizational equipment.

Argentina's Agency for Access to Public Information then announced an investigation into Worldcoin's customer data collection, storage and use, citing security and privacy concerns.