\n<\/p>\n
Another highly-valued startup has just been added to the mix in the ongoing legal drama between Rippling and Deel<\/a>: U.K. fintech giant Revolut.<\/p>\n In his blockbuster affidavit that reads like it\u2019s straight out of a movie<\/a>, Irish Rippling employee Keith O\u2019Brien claimed that he was paid about $6,000 a month to spy on Rippling. He alleged the first $6,000 payment was sent to his Revolut account by Alba Basha Westgarth, the wife of Deel\u2019s COO Dan Westgarth, back in November 2024.<\/p>\n At the time, Alba Basha Westgarth was working as the crypto compliance lead at Robinhood, according to a LinkedIn profile reviewed by TechCrunch that has since been deleted. Robinhood told TechCrunch that she left Robinhood earlier this year, but did not elaborate about why.<\/p>\n The deleted LinkedIn profile lists her location as Dubai \u2013 that\u2019s the same place, known as an extradition haven, where Deel\u2019s CEO and legal director are now located<\/a> as Rippling tries to serve them papers.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Rippling is now suing Revolut to get the full name and address of the \u201cAlba Basha\u201d listed as the sender on that $6,000 receipt, court records show. Rippling is also seeking all account opening documentation\u2014things like IDs and utility bills\u2014to definitively confirm her identity.<\/p>\n In response, Revolut has hired a top lawyer in Ireland. It also sent a letter responding to Rippling last week, which a lawyer for Rippling described as \u201chelpful but complicated\u201d in a court hearing without elaborating.<\/p>\n To be clear, there\u2019s no indication or accusation that Revolut has done anything wrong here. The E.U. has strict privacy laws, so supplying that kind of information isn\u2019t simple, especially in a civil case like this one. A key sticking point is that there hasn\u2019t been an order from the Irish court itself on Revolut to provide the information.\u00a0<\/p>\n Revolut declined to comment specifically on the case but told TechCrunch that, in general, it will \u201calways comply with any court order request for disclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether Revolut ends up providing more details about the \u201cAlba Basha\u201d behind the transfer remains to be seen.\u00a0The only other option under European privacy laws would be customer consent, which seems unlikely in this case. <\/p>\n