If an NFT creator sells a project based on roadmap promises, but after the mint disappears with the money without delivering (e.g. enacts a rug pull), can the creator be prosecuted?
Select jurisdiction
Germany
Yes, promising a specific road map upon minting and then running away with the money
after the mint without delivering on that promised road map can be a criminal offence in
Germany. For example, this can be the criminal offence of a fraud depending on the
circumstances of the individual case. The requirements for the offence of a fraud are that
someone damages the financial assets of another person by creating or maintaining an error
by false pretences or by distorting or suppressing true facts with the intention of obtaining an
unlawful financial benefit for himself or for a third party. This can be fulfilled if the NFT creator
willingly promises false deliverables on the road map in order to cheat the buyers out of their
money. Of course, it is then a practical issue to identify the offender and to prove that they
had the intention to not deliver on the road map from the beginning.
Nigeria
A promise to do a thing is ineffectual until consideration passes from the
promisee. Where the money has been paid after mint, consideration is made and
a contract is formed. Where the Creator thus absconds, the creator can be sued
for breach of contract or prosecuted under criminal law for obtaining by false
pretences or for stealing.
Poland
Yes. In such a case, depending on the particular circumstances of the case and especially on whether the creator’s behavior was intentional, his / her actions may be qualified as fraudulent and thus be subjected to prosecution by relevant public authorities in Poland.
