Deel is said to have paid 5,000 euros with a 5,000 euro code to spy on its competitors

An Irish man who confessed to spying on payroll company deals while working for his rival company Ripling claims he was paid in crypto as part of a James Bond-inspired plot.

Ripling filed a lawsuit against Deal in March 2025, accusing the company of secrecy misappropriation, assault and interfering with tort. The affidavit, now filed in the Irish High Court, revealed the confession of Keith O’Brien, the alleged spy involved.

O’Brien claims he spyed on the deal after CEO Alex Bouadz offered him about 5,000 euros ($5,500) to get information about Riplings’ “how to do things” at the meeting James Bond mentioned.

He accepted and claimed that Alex’s father, Deal’s CFO Philip Bouadz, told him, “This method leaves ‘no traces’ so future payments will be made via cryptocurrency.”

O’Brien says he was paid to a blockchain wallet at Ethereum and then converted the funds to Fiat for the Crypto fluctuating prices.

One of O’Brien’s statements in the affidavit details the alleged demands from Alex Bouaziz.

Read more: About Crypto and Russia: Ukrainian spy spying conviction

It is said that a variety of documents have been accessed from ripples, including Project Roadmaps and the company’s tactics to place products as a great alternative to Deel.

However, after months of spying, the lawyer offered O’Brien a court order, leading him to suspect that ripples had set up a trap to catch him. The Deal asked O’Brien to work without banning himself from legal trouble and encourage Ripples to grant Russia’s payments.

Worried over the wealth and power of Alex Bouadz, O’Brien said, “I realized I was hurting myself and my family in order to protect the Deal.”

He also says he worked for ripples before failing his job at the deal. After staying in touch with Deal’s CEO, he claims that Alex informed him that he plans to leave the ripples before offering him the opportunity to spy.

Protos will contact Ripples and Deel to comment on the case and update this article if they hear anything.