A new twist in the Rippling-Deel saga has surfaced — this time involving high-profile U.K. fintech Revolut.
In a striking affidavit, Rippling employee Keith O’Brien alleged that Deel secretly paid him $6,000 a month to act as a mole within Rippling. He claimed the first payment, made in November 2024, came via Revolut from Alba Basha Westgarth — the wife of Deel COO Dan Westgarth.
At the time, Basha Westgarth reportedly worked as Robinhood’s crypto compliance lead, according to a LinkedIn. That profile has since been deleted. Robinhood confirmed her departure earlier this year but didn’t offer a reason.
Her profile listed Dubai as her location — coincidentally, the same city where Deel’s CEO and legal director are currently based as Rippling attempts to serve legal papers. The UAE’s stance on extradition has drawn global scrutiny.
Now, Rippling is suing Revolut in Ireland to obtain the full identity and address of “Alba Basha,” the Revolut account holder tied to the transaction. They’re also requesting account registration documents, such as government IDs and utility bills, to verify her identity.
Revolut has hired a top-tier lawyer and already responded to Rippling, though the reply was described by Rippling’s attorney as “helpful but complicated” during a court appearance.
There’s no suggestion Revolut acted improperly. Due to E.U. privacy regulations, such data requests require strong legal backing — and so far, no Irish court order has been issued.
Revolut said it complies with court orders but didn’t comment on this specific case. Without court intervention or customer consent, Revolut may be limited in what it can share.
Deel has publicly denied any wrongdoing but declined to comment, as did the Westgarths and Rippling. However, during an April 2 hearing, the judge acknowledged evidence tying Basha to Westgarth and noted, “It could be a coincidence, but it’s unlikely!”
