TONY Pua will meet with a non-fungible token (NFT) entrepreneur who recently claimed on TwItter that there were some “dodgy” transactions related to the DAP lawmaker’s Langkah Sheraton painting sold digitally.  

The Damansara MP said that he would meet with the person, who goes by the Twitter handle @pedagang_eth, tomorrow to clear the air over the matter. 

“I have written to the guy who made the accusation. I told him everything is above board, and we’ve received every sen of NFTs sold. 

“I have offered to meet and show him our records. And he has agreed to meet this Friday afternoon,” Pua told The Malaysian Insight.  

In reply to Pua’s invitation, the Twitter user also said that he was currently rounding up NFT community members to attend the session.  

“If you are interested in joining, direct message me.  

“Not for politics or to attack but to have a civil dialogue,” the person tweeted. 

NFTs are cryptographic assets on a blockchain that is associated with a particular digital or physical asset. 

The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded. 

Recently, it was announced that Pua’s Langkah Sheraton painting raised RM1.3 million for DAP as it prepared for the upcoming general election.  

The money was raised after 8,888 copies of the digital painting were minted (sold) in less than 28 hours following a public launch sale on August 31. 

It was reported that the painting was now owned by 148 holders on the digital blockchain.  

In a series of tweets, the pedagang.eth Twitter handler said that early transactions of the NFT appeared legitimate until US$14,614 (RM65,763) was raised.

Thereafter, he claimed, someone with access to the project funds, whom he labelled “Langkah Sheraton Funder” withdrew US$13,100 worth of cryptocurrency from the funds raised earlier. 

He claimed a majority of the funds were then distributed to other cryptocurrency wallets.  

The funds transferred to the new wallet were then used to buy more of the Langkah Sheraton NFTs.  

The entrepreneur alleged that the same type of purchase went on for nine cycles and was used to buy around 7,700 of the NFTs sold. 

“Conclusion: Funds were not raised from the blockchain itself. Funds were cycled from wallet to wallet to create an illusion of ‘sale’. 

“Imagine creating 100 Shopee accounts, funding them and using those funds to buy from a Shopee seller. Same situation here,” the entrepreneur surmised. 

Pua surprised quite a few people when he presented an oil painting depicting the infamous “Sheraton move” at an art exhibition marking the 80th birthday of DAP elder Lim Kit Siang.

Until the unveiling of Langkah Sheraton at Theatre Impian in Bukit Jalil, few had suspected that the Damansara MP could paint. 

The painting features Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former prime minister Najib Razak, and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, to name but a few of the political bigwigs at the gathering that would result in the toppling of a government. 

Pua claimed to have worked eight hours a day on some days and the 121cm x 152cm painting took 10 months to complete.  

For the NFT fundraiser, the painting was divided into multiple squares that were individually sold. 

Ownerships of the NFTs are now being traded on the Opensea online marketplace. Pua has said that DAP will get a royalty fee from each trade. – September 8, 2022.