African cryptocurrency exchange Mara has reportedly lost around $16 million, out of the $23 million raised from investors in 2022.
According to a report from Bitcoin.com on Thursday, August 22, 2024, following the collapse of the exchange, Mara’s founder and CEO, Chinyere Nnadi, launched a new entity called Jara in January 2024. Nnadi claims that the crypto exchange exhausted its capital by paying high salaries to attract top talent.
A report by TechCabal reveals that approximately $9.1 million, was spent on salaries, bonuses, and benefits for the 130 employees reported to be on Mara’s payroll.
However, former Mara executives, who resigned from the company in 2023, have accused Nnadi of creating the new entity, Jara, to evade responsibility for Mara’s financial obligations.
Fake Mara Wallets and Internal Controversy
Unnamed executives have also blamed the CEO for Mara’s downturn. The exchange slashed its workforce by 85% in June 2023, with Mara stating that only roles deemed redundant were eliminated.
At the time, some former employees argued that Mara’s ballooning marketing expenses forced the cryptocurrency exchange to drastically reduce its workforce.
In investor reports, Nnadi reportedly claimed that the crypto exchange spent the raised capital on high salaries to attract talent.
Meanwhile, another unnamed former executive disclosed that a quarter of Mara’s 4.5 million verified users were fake accounts. The executive attributed the proliferation of fake Mara wallets to the financial incentives offered through the company’s referral program.