Startup Grant Fraud Warning: Lessons from the Sensifai Case

Overview

We at Pactus regret to announce that we have fallen victim to a calculated and sophisticated startup grant fraud scheme. This post serves as a warning to all startups—be extremely cautious when entering grant-based collaborations, especially when another party offers to represent you in European grant programs.

Background

The story begins with a company named Sensifai, allegedly registered in Belgium. We initially partnered with Sensifai on a joint proposal for TrustChain Call-5, where we presented our innovative consensus algorithm, Cheetah, designed to enhance performance and sustainability on the Pactus blockchain. The proposal for TrustChain, registered under Pactus Nexus¹, stated that Pactus Nexus would build on the Pactus blockchain.

The Pactus team prepared the Cheetah paper and implemented it within the Pactus blockchain. During the TrustChain Open Call process, the majority of the technical presentations and Q&A sessions were conducted by the Pactus team, and the session were recorded by the TrustChain organizers. In the presentation, the Pactus team introduced the Cheetah algorithm and highlighted the energy efficiency of the protocol.

The Fraudulent Actions

Sensifai agreed to split the approved grant equally between Sensifai and Pactus. However, once the grant was approved, red flags began to emerge:

• Sensifai refused to sign the cooperation agreement.
• Sensifai refused to share the grant contract with TrustChain.
• They withdrew Pactus team from the Trust CHain project without notice and replaced us with their internal members.
• Ultimately, Pactus was completely removed from the funded project, despite being its main contributor.

Sensifai: A Grant Hunter

Sensifai is a company registered in Belgium. Our investigation indicates that it operates as a cover company to apply for grants and funding in the European Union. Although it lists an office address in Zug, Belgium, our findings show that its actual operations are based in Mashhad, Iran. It appears that Sensifai’s presence in Belgium exists to gain access to EU grants and startup accelerator programs and they don’t have any development or operation team there.

Based on our experience and investigation the following individuals were directly involved in this operation:

• Mohammad Hassan Bahari – CEO of Sensifai
• Moslem Attar – Specializes in grant proposal writing and application drafting.

A Warning to All Startups

To all startups, especially those outside Europe:

Never allow another entity to apply for a grant on your behalf without a signed, binding agreement. Ensure that your core team members are explicitly included in the project contract. Be wary of organizations that promise quick access to European funding in exchange for project ownership or representation rights.

Our Stand

We are deeply disappointed by how easily such actors can manipulate European grant systems meant for genuine innovation. At Pactus, we are taking all necessary steps to expose this fraudulent scheme and will report this incident to every relevant authority and organization.

We hope this statement will not only hold them accountable but also prevent other honest projects from falling into similar traps.