Top Ten Bits:
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Inappropriate Behavior Leading to Dismissal: Ager-Hanssen was dismissed from nChain on September 27, 2023, due to "serious and inappropriate" conduct, which the company did not detail but found severe enough to justify immediate termination (nChain) (crypto.news).
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Secret Recordings for Personal Gain: He secretly recorded 50 hours of conversations with HQ Bank's chairman to gather incriminating evidence for his ally, Qviberg, in a legal dispute. This underhanded tactic was driven by a promise of financial gain if Qviberg won the case (CoinGeek).
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Scheming to Infiltrate nChain: Ager-Hanssen reportedly planned his entry into nChain well before his official appointment, including manipulating situations to win the trust of key figures like Craig Wright and securing an executive role with the promise of significant financial benefits (CoinGeek).
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Hiring Operatives to Discredit Opponents: He allegedly hired a former Mossad operative to pose as an Argentinian businessman to discredit crypto lawyer Kyle Roch, who subsequently withdrew from lawsuits against major crypto firms like Tether and Tron (Protos).
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Unauthorized Political Donations: Ager-Hanssen directed nChain to donate £70,000 to the UK Tory party without shareholder approval, which is against company law (Protos).
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Public Allegations Against Colleagues: He publicly accused nChain's chief scientist, Craig Wright, of manipulating documents to falsely claim to be Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. This move caused significant controversy within the company and the broader crypto community (crypto.news) (nChain).
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Triggering an Independent Investigation: His conduct and allegations led the nChain board to commission an independent investigation, which found his stewardship problematic enough to act on its findings and remove him from his position (crypto.news).
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Reputation for Mercenary Tactics: Ager-Hanssen admitted that his actions against HQ Bank's chairman were driven by financial motivations and personal vendettas, showcasing a pattern of opportunistic and retaliatory behavior (CoinGeek).
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Manipulative Entry Tactics: He targeted events like the Ascot Racecourse to corner and converse with influential figures such as Craig Wright, using these interactions to maneuver himself into a powerful position within nChain (CoinGeek).
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Destabilizing Company Governance: His actions and the subsequent fallout from his dismissal created instability within nChain, impacting its operations and stakeholder confidence (crypto.news) (nChain).
In a recent development, nChain, a blockchain and web3 company, responded to allegations made by its former CEO, Christen Ager-Hanssen, after his dismissal. Ager-Hanssen announced on social media that he was leaving the company due to uncovering a conspiracy to defraud nChain shareholders, particularly involving actions by chief scientist Craig Wright.
However, nChain clarified that Ager-Hanssen was actually fired on September 27 for serious and inappropriate behavior, prior to his public statements. The company had conducted a comprehensive, independent investigation into his stewardship, the results of which remained confidential.
Despite Ager-Hanssen's claims of having evidence against Wright, including accusations of document manipulation, nChain initiated an independent review of these claims but expressed disagreement with Ager-Hanssen’s conclusions.