SEC v. Srinivas Koneru — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26429, dated December 3, 2025.
The SEC charged Srinivas Koneru, CEO of Triterras, with fraud for misleading investors about his company's trade finance platform, Kratos. Koneru allegedly inflated the platform's success by claiming significant financing volumes and partnerships with lending funds, when in reality, much of the financing involved entities he owned and was not facilitated by the platform. This deception occurred in connection with a SPAC merger, leading to substantial investor losses.
In Plain English
Imagine you're selling a special app that connects people needing loans with banks willing to lend money. You tell investors the app is super popular and has arranged billions in loans. But, secretly, most of the 'loans' were just between people you already knew and owned, and the app barely helped at all. You made it look like the app was a huge success to get people to invest, but it wasn't true.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
- Promoting a 'Revolutionary' Platform Srinivas Koneru, founder of Triterras Fintech, promoted his company's Kratos platform as a game-changer for the $1.5 trillion trade finance shortfall. He claimed Kratos had two modules: 'Trade Discovery' for traders and 'Trade Finance' to connect them with lenders.
- Inflating Lending Partnerships Koneru told investors and approved public filings stating that by August 2020, Kratos had onboarded ten lending funds. He claimed these funds had billions in assets under management.
- Fabricating Financing Volume Crucially, Koneru represented that the total volume of financing by lenders on the Trade Finance module reached $1.1 billion. This figure was presented as proof of Kratos's success and its ability to attract significant capital.
- Concealing the Truth About Lenders In reality, Koneru knew or recklessly disregarded that only about 10% of the reported Trade Finance module volume and revenue involved these ten lending funds. The complaint alleges that the limited financing from these funds was primarily directed to entities majority-owned by Koneru himself, such as Rhodium Resources Pte. Ltd.
- Backdating 'Platform' Loans Furthermore, Koneru allegedly directed that some of these loans to his own entities be added to the Kratos platform *after the fact*. This was done to create the false impression that these loans had originated on the platform, deceiving investors about its actual utility.
- Misrepresenting 90% of Volume The complaint alleges that approximately 90% of the reported Trade Finance module volume actually consisted of transactions between trade counterparties themselves. Koneru concealed this fact because it undermined the business case he had promoted to investors.
- Securing the SPAC Merger Based on this misleading picture of Triterras Fintech's business, Netfin Acquisition Corp.'s shareholders overwhelmingly approved the business combination on November 10, 2020. Less than 3% of public shares were redeemed, allowing the merger to proceed.
- Cashing In and Continuing Deception The merger resulted in Koneru receiving $60 million in cash and a controlling equity stake in the new public company, Triterras, Inc., where he became CEO and Executive Chairman. He allegedly continued to make misleading statements about Kratos's Trade Finance module volume post-merger.
The Enforcement Action
On November 7, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Srinivas Koneru with fraud in connection with the November 2020 business combination of his private company, Triterras Fintech Pte. Ltd., with Netfin Acquisition Corp. (a SPAC). The SEC's complaint alleges Koneru engaged in a fraudulent scheme by making misleading statements about Triterras Fintech’s Kratos platform, particularly its Trade Finance module, to induce investors to approve the SPAC merger. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, a civil penalty, and an officer-and-director bar.
Named in this action: Srinivas Koneru.