OSINT Investigation:
Carl Runefelt
Crypto influencer linked to multiple promoted token schemes and rug-pull allegations
Primary Jurisdictions
UAE, Sweden, BVI, United Kingdom
Investigation Period
2019 – Present
Methodology
Open-Source Intelligence
Intelligence Metrics
60+
Sources Analyzed
Investigative journalism, forum threads, blockchain records, social media archives
8+
Promoted Tokens Flagged
Tokens promoted by subject later collapsed or flagged by community
6
Jurisdictions
Countries spanning subject's promotional and corporate footprint
10+
Verified Records
Corporate registrations, social profiles, blockchain wallets
1.6M+
Audience Reach
YouTube and X (Twitter) followers exposed to promotions
$100M+
Estimated Token Losses
Aggregate community-reported losses across promoted tokens
Carl Runefelt is a Swedish, Dubai-based crypto influencer ('The Moon') whose promotional activity, founder role in the Kasta project, and adjacency to documented Ponzi-network reporting present a high-reputation, elevated-AML risk profile. Investigative coverage and community sources document repeated cycles of token promotion, severe price collapses, and narrative repositioning across a 1.6M+ retail audience.
Identity & Corporate Network Analysis
Identity Verification
Carl Runefelt is a Swedish national operating from Dubai under the brand 'The Moon'. He holds no verified financial regulatory licenses and operates primarily as a crypto content creator, founder, and self-described venture investor.
His public footprint spans YouTube, X (Twitter), and conference circuits, with corporate operations centred in UAE free zones and reported ancillary structuring across BVI and the United Kingdom.
Corporate Network Mapping
The operational core consists of 'The Moon' channel and personal investment vehicles based in Dubai, supplemented by the Kasta project, whose token issuance is reportedly structured via a BVI entity.
Adjacent reporting (dehek.com) places subject within the wider Dubai crypto-promoter ecosystem connected to the Goliath Ventures / My Liquidity Partner Ponzi narrative, although subject is not named as an operator of those specific schemes.
Corporate Network
Entity Web — 6 Entities, 6 Relationships
Click any node to inspect · Drag to pan · Scroll to zoom · Edge colors: owns · manages · rebranded · affiliated
Beneficial Ownership & Control Analysis
Click on nodes or connection lines to reveal concealment tactics and red flags
The combination of UAE free zone operational entities and a reported BVI token issuance vehicle for Kasta produces meaningful beneficial-ownership opacity around treasury and token allocation flows.
Inner-circle control is concentrated: subject personally owns and operates 'The Moon' brand and reported investment vehicles, while co-promotion is conducted within a tight Dubai-based crypto-influencer cluster.
Systemic AML signals include free-zone hosting, offshore token structures, lack of standard paid-promotion disclosures alleged in community reporting, and adjacency in investigative reporting to operators of documented Ponzi schemes.
Timeline of Financial Harm
From Swedish-origin YouTube launch in 2018 to founder-led Kasta token collapse and ongoing VC repositioning, subject's trajectory shows recurring cycles of high-reach promotion followed by price drawdowns.
Venture Timeline
Cumulative Financial Harm
Systematic Pattern
Documented pattern: serial venture launches followed by collapse, immediate rebranding, and withdrawal restrictions coinciding with recruitment slowdowns.
The Moon
Active2018
Launch — The Influencer Brand
Scheme Premise
Crypto education and trading insight via YouTube; positioning subject as leading retail crypto voice.
Collapse Signal
Channel remains active; criticised for promoting tokens that later collapsed.
Altcoin Promotion Cycle
Collapsed2020–2021
Pump — Audience Monetisation
Scheme Premise
Endorsements of low-cap altcoins promising 10x–100x returns to retail audiences.
Collapse Signal
Multiple promoted tokens later flagged by community as pump-and-dump or rug-pulls.
Kasta
Collapsed2021–2023
Founder Pivot — KASTA Token
Scheme Premise
Crypto-native peer-to-peer payments app with native KASTA utility token.
Collapse Signal
KASTA token price collapsed >95% from launch highs amid community rug-pull allegations and critical Cointelegraph coverage.
Moon Ventures Era
Rebranded2022–2024
Rebrand — Investor Persona
Scheme Premise
Repositioning as venture investor and seed-stage crypto allocator.
Collapse Signal
Conflict-of-interest concerns over promoting tokens in which subject holds early allocations.
The Cycle Is Not Over
Latest scheme remains active. Zero successful prosecutions to date.
Channel Genesis (2018–2019)
Subject launches 'The Moon' YouTube channel from Sweden, building rapid retail audience around bullish crypto narratives.
Channel scales as subject relocates to Dubai and adopts persona of leading retail crypto authority.
Altcoin Promotion Cycle (2020–2021)
Multiple low-cap tokens are publicly promoted to a fast-growing audience, with several tokens later flagged by community as pump-and-dump or rug-pull patterns.
Kasta Founder Pivot and Collapse (2021–2023)
Subject co-founds Kasta and launches the KASTA token, leveraging audience reach to drive demand.
Token suffers >95% drawdown amid rug-pull allegations and critical Cointelegraph coverage characterising the promotional narrative as an attempt to 'bend reality'.
VC Repositioning and Network Exposure (2023–Present)
Subject pivots toward a venture-investor persona via Moon Ventures while dehek.com investigative reporting situates him within a broader Dubai promoter ecosystem connected to the Goliath/MLP Ponzi narrative.
Reputation Engineering & Information Suppression
Subject's public narrative has been actively curated around success imagery, luxury lifestyle, and self-positioning as a leading crypto investor — a framing directly challenged by Cointelegraph's 'bend reality' analysis of Kasta promotional claims.
Independent forum communities (notably Flashback) maintain extensive threads documenting community concerns about promotional patterns, KASTA performance, and credibility of subject's stated investment outcomes.
Reputation Manipulation Timeline
Click any node to inspect evidence — 2020–2025
Documented Censorship Campaigns
Community sources report removal pressure and narrative management around critical content, with the Cointelegraph piece preserved in the Wayback Machine as evidence of the chilling effect concern. The pattern aligns with broader influencer-economy reputation engineering rather than directly verified DMCA abuse, but the suppression signal is consistent across multiple independent sources.
Lumen Database Notice #34628019
False DMCA ClaimEvidence of bad-faith copyright claim used to suppress investigative journalism
Multiple investigative outlets and forum discussions report removal pressure, narrative management, and reputation engineering connected to subject's promotional activity.
Investigative Analysis
Pattern of suppression has been observed across forum threads (Flashback) and on archived investigative pieces (Cointelegraph archive).
Cointelegraph analysis characterised subject's Kasta promotion as an attempt to 'bend reality' regarding token economics and adoption metrics.
Investigative Analysis
CRITICAL: Independent journalism contradicts subject's public narrative around Kasta performance and structural soundness.
Subject's name appears in dehek.com investigation into Goliath Ventures / My Liquidity Partner Ponzi rebrand within Dubai influencer ecosystem.
Investigative Analysis
Subject is contextualised within a broader network of Dubai-based crypto promoters under investigative scrutiny.
Source: Lumen Database (lumendatabase.org) - Public record of online content removal requests
Comparative Fraud Analysis: Structural Parallels
Subject's promotional pattern most closely parallels the BitConnect-era influencer cycle: outsized return framing, dependence on audience reach, and severe post-promotion drawdowns. Unlike pure Ponzi operators, subject acts primarily as a high-reach amplifier and founder, but the harm vector to retail investors is structurally similar.
The founder pivot into Kasta and subsequent token collapse maps onto the ICO-era influencer-founder pattern, where personal credibility is converted into token demand and the structural conflict between insider allocations and public promotion becomes the central red flag.
| Scheme | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carl Runefelt SUBJECTHIGH RISK | |||||
BitConnect COMPARATOREXTREME RISK | |||||
Savedroid / Promoted ICO Era COMPARATORHIGH RISK |
Pattern Dimensions
5 / 5
Subject scheme assessed across all 5 fraud dimensions identified in historical comparators.
Rebranding Frequency
Influencer → Founder → VC
Key operational signature distinguishing this subject scheme from single-cycle historical comparators.
Comparator Schemes
2 analysed
Historical comparators: BitConnect, Savedroid / Promoted ICO Era.
“Independent reporting and community investigations characterise Carl Runefelt as a high-reach crypto promoter whose endorsement pattern, founder pivot into Kasta, and adjacency to Dubai-based scheme networks raise structural concerns consistent with influencer-driven token cycle harm.”
Red Flag Catalog
Severity Distribution — 6 Red Flags Documented
Promotional narratives framing low-cap tokens with 10x–100x return implications to mass retail audience.
Public promotion of speculative low-cap tokens to a 1.6M+ audience without proportionate risk disclosure mirrors patterns flagged by securities regulators globally as high-harm influencer behaviour.
Documented Examples
- YouTube content framing speculative altcoins as imminent multipliers
- KASTA token promotion preceding >95% drawdown
- Endorsement pattern across multiple later-flagged tokens
SEC (Investor Alert)
“Promises of high returns with little or no risk are classic warning signs of investment fraud.”
Reported pattern of subject taking early-stage token allocations later promoted publicly to retail audience.
Holding pre-allocated tokens while publicly promoting them creates a structural front-running incentive in which audience demand can be used to monetise insider positions.
Documented Examples
- Reported early-stage allocations via investment vehicle
- Public endorsements coinciding with allocation unlocks
- Lack of consistent paid-promotion disclosures alleged in community reporting
KASTA token suffered severe drawdown amid community rug-pull allegations and critical media coverage.
Subject's flagship founder venture experienced a >95% token drawdown, with Cointelegraph publishing critical analysis of promotional claims.
Documented Examples
- KASTA price collapse from launch highs
- Cointelegraph 'bend reality' critique
- Community rug-pull allegations on forums
Use of BVI and UAE free zone structures around Kasta and promotional operations.
Token issuance reportedly via BVI vehicle alongside UAE free zone operational base reduces beneficial-ownership transparency and enforcement reach.
Documented Examples
- BVI token issuer entity
- Dubai free zone promotional ops
- Reported UK ancillary entities
Pattern of narrative management against critical investigative content.
Forum threads and archived investigative coverage indicate active management of public narrative around subject's promotional history.
Documented Examples
- Flashback threads documenting community concerns
- Archived Cointelegraph piece preserved via Web Archive
- Adjacent placement in dehek.com investigation
Subject named within wider dehek.com reporting on Goliath Ventures / MLP Ponzi rebrand ecosystem.
Adjacency in investigative reporting to documented Ponzi operators in the Dubai crypto promoter ecosystem elevates network and reputational risk.
Documented Examples
- dehek.com Goliath / MLP investigation
- Shared Dubai promoter event circuits
- Cross-promotional patterns alleged
Final Risk Assessment
Overall Classification
Risk Assessment Scorecard
Risk Vector Overview
Scores based on documented findings. Max = 100.
AML Risk
HIGHUse of BVI and UAE free zone structures around token issuance and promotional operations limits beneficial ownership transparency and recovery channels.
Offshore jurisdictions
3+ (UAE, BVI, UK)
Token issuance opacity
BVI structure reported
UBO transparency
Limited
Adjacent Ponzi reporting
Yes (dehek.com)
AML Risk Classification: HIGH. Use of UAE free zone and reported BVI token issuance structures, combined with adjacency to documented Ponzi-network reporting, produces meaningful beneficial-ownership opacity and recovery friction.
Aggregate Financial Harm: Community-reported aggregate losses across promoted tokens — including a >95% KASTA drawdown — are estimated in excess of $100M, with retail audience exposure exceeding 1.6M followers.
Regulatory Evasion Pattern: Subject operates without verified financial regulatory licenses while engaging in mass-market token promotion across borders, exploiting the global enforcement gap around crypto-influencer activity that regulators including the SEC and FCA have publicly flagged.
Overall risk classification is HIGH, driven principally by reputational and operational dimensions. The combination of mass retail reach, founder-led token collapse, offshore structuring, and adjacency to documented Ponzi-network reporting warrants enhanced due diligence and continuous monitoring for forward enforcement exposure.
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