Kaashvi’s scam allegations have shaken the Indian gaming scene, and now 8Bit Thug has finally put out his side of the story.
This whole situation around Kaashvi’s scam allegations on 8Bit co-founder Thug is honestly one of the biggest dramas the Indian esports community has seen in a while. You have a popular creator, a top org co-owner, legal action, and now a public counter-statement, all happening while the Esports World Cup is going on.
What Kaashvi said in her scam video and posts
On July 16, 2026, Kaashvi Hiranandani, known as Kaash Plays, uploaded a nine-minute YouTube video titled “How I got scammed by 8Bit Thug” and shared a long note on Instagram about the matter. In that content, she directly accused S8UL and 8Bit co-founder Animesh “Thug” Agarwal, along with 8Bit Creatives, of serious financial fraud and breach of trust.
Kaashvi claimed that during the three-plus years she was with the org, her management underreported the actual value of brand deals, calculated her payouts using these lower figures, and kept the remaining money for themselves. She also said that a payout sent by a brand to the agency after her association ended was never returned, even after she followed up multiple times.
Because of all this, she revealed that she had filed an FIR against Thug at Santacruz Police Station in Mumbai. In her statement, she thanked the Mumbai Police Commissioner, DCP Zone 9, and the officers involved for quickly registering the case, and added that, on legal advice, she would not talk about more details while the investigation is ongoing.
In her Instagram note, she also mentioned talking about this to Mortal and his wife earlier, asking them not to share the details further, and claimed that similar issues had happened with other creators who might not even realise it yet.
Kaashvi is not some small creator; she has over 1.74 million subscribers on YouTube and around 2.2 million followers on Instagram. So when she put out the scam allegations, the topic instantly blew up across the Indian gaming community. Right now, Kaashvi is associated with Revenant XSPark, co-owned by Tanmay “ScoutOP” Singh. Scout reacted publicly, confirming the situation and writing, “Yes, it’s true. I hope such things never happen again. More power to you, stay strong.”
It’s also not the first time Thug has faced such accusations. Back in 2019, players Owais and Ronak had raised financial fraud claims against him, though he did address those at the time and shared his side.
8Bit Thug’s official response to the allegations
Initially, Thug hadn’t responded and was in Paris for the Esports World Cup 2026, where S8UL is competing in multiple titles. But after the FIR and the video went public, Animesh Agarwal finally issued a formal statement across social media, directly addressing Kaashvi’s scam allegations.
He strongly denied the accusations, calling the statements “false and misleading,” and said they do not match the values he claims to have followed throughout his career. Thug stressed that he has built 8Bit and S8UL on integrity, transparency, and hard work, and that the trust from the community and partners is something he earned over years of “honest and ethical conduct.”
Importantly, he also made it clear that he does not want to fight this out in public. In his statement, he explained that matters under legal scrutiny should be handled through proper legal and judicial channels, not in the court of public opinion. He argued that public back-and-forth can damage reputations and affect the fairness of the process.
Because of that, Thug said he will not comment on the factual details of the case in public and that his silence should not be taken as admitting anything, but as a choice to respect due process. He stated that both he and S8UL will let the legal authorities investigate and decide, and asked people not to jump to conclusions based on “one-sided narratives.”
At this point, Kaashvi’s allegations and Thug’s response have both been clearly put out, and the FIR has started a formal police inquiry. No official legal judgment or conclusion has been made yet, and both sides say they are relying on the legal system rather than more public drama.
For the wider Indian esports community, this is a tense waiting game. Fans and creators are carefully watching what happens next, but the final call will come from the investigation and the courts, not social media debates.