Identifying the Crypto Entrepreneur Linked to Popular Forum Trading in ‘Leaked’ Nudes of Women

A Bellingcat investigation, carried out with the New Zealand outlet The Press, has traced the ownership of a notorious forum trading in non-consensual intimate images back to a single person. Bellingcat reports that payment streams, company records and domain information for the site, called LeakedBB, appear to lead to Jitendra Maharaj, a Christchurch-based former pilot and co-founder of a cryptocurrency startup. The forum, which drew an estimated two million visits a month and more than two million registered users, hosted content its members claimed was hacked, leaked or obtained through blackmail, and Google had already de-listed well over one hundred thousand of its pages from search results. According to Bellingcat, Maharaj denied knowing who operated the site, which went offline shortly after journalists sent him their findings and remains inaccessible.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton