Indian gaming content creator Kaashvi (Kaashvi Hiranandani) has filed a First Information Report against 8Bit Thug (Animesh Agarwal), co-founder of S8UL Esports and CEO of 8Bit Creatives, alleging financial fraud and breach of trust during her time as a creator under 8Bit Creatives. In a YouTube video published on July 16, 2026, titled “How I Got Scammed by 8bit Thug,” she named Thug directly and said the matter is now with Mumbai Police.
This is not the first time Kaashvi flagged legal trouble. In 2025, she publicly disclosed FIRs related to online harassment. But those were separate. She had not named anyone from the management side of the gaming industry until now. July 16 is the first time she spoke directly on camera, naming 8Bit Thug and 8Bit Creatives in what she says was a pattern of financial wrongdoing over multiple years.
8Bit Thug has not publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of writing.
Who Is 8Bit Thug?
Animesh Agarwal, known as 8Bit Thug, is one of the most prominent figures in Indian esports. Born on March 5, 1996, in Guwahati, Assam, he is the CEO of 8Bit Creatives, a gaming talent management agency, and a co-owner of S8UL Esports. S8UL was formed in 2020 when Team SouL (Naman “Mortal” Mathur) and Team 8Bit merged. The organisation now competes across 18 game titles and has secured two consecutive EWC Club Partner selections.
The split between S8UL and 8Bit Creatives matters here. They are separate businesses. As TalkEsport reported in 2023, Thug said on record that S8UL Esports is not profitable, but 8Bit Creatives, the talent management side, is. The brand deals Kaashvi alleges were misrepresented went through 8Bit Creatives, not the esports org.
Kaashvi’s Time With S8UL and 8Bit Creatives
Kaashvi quit her finance job in 2022 and joined 8Bit Creatives and S8UL as a content creator. In the video she describes putting her own money into production costs, studio, videography, editing, actors, while trusting that her share of brand deals was being handled correctly.
She stayed through Scout’s departure from S8UL in late 2024. She had publicly backed Scout at the time, saying on livestream that his problems were her problems. In the video, she now says Thug had specifically asked her to stay after Scout left because, she claims, “he couldn’t sustain that financial hit.” She agreed. She stayed considerably longer than she otherwise would have.
S8UL posted a farewell statement on Instagram in July 2025 when she left. At the time, Kaashvi described it as a difficult but necessary step for her growth. No dispute was mentioned publicly.
What She Says Happened: The Alleged Scam
Kaashvi used a hypothetical in her video to explain what she says happened on brand deals. She was clear these were illustrative numbers, not real figures from a specific deal.
Her example: a brand pays ₹1 lakh. Under the agreed commission structure, Thug was entitled to a percentage, which she described as on the higher end of industry norms. She should get the rest. She says what actually happened was that Thug told her each deal was worth less than it was. In her example, he allegedly said a ₹1 lakh deal came in at ₹60,000. He then took his percentage cut from that lower number and passed her the remainder, roughly ₹42,000, while keeping ₹58,000 in total rather than the ₹30,000 his commission entitled him to.
She says this did not happen once. It happened multiple times.
She also notes she was covering all production costs herself throughout this period.
She Told Someone. Then Stayed Silent.
When she first noticed the discrepancies, Kaashvi says she tried to let it go. She did not want to confront someone who had been in the industry far longer than her. But eventually she reached out to MortaL, she describes as a “big brother” figure that other creators trusted.
She says MortaL immediately opened financial records, checked the figures, and confirmed the amounts did not match. He offered to speak to Thug. She told him not to. She made him swear on his wife not to tell anyone. She was new to the industry. These were people with far more power in it than her.
After that, she says, the alleged practice continued.
Formal Requests, No Replies, and the Money Still Not Returned
She eventually confronted Thug directly and asked for an explanation. He said he would explain. Then he said he would tell her tonight. Then tomorrow. Then next week. Then three months passed. Then four. When she kept asking, she says he finally snapped: “How dare you ask me!”
At that point she sent a formal email with her lawyer on CC, asking for an accounting of the discrepancies. Thug did not reply.
Separately, she says that after their professional association ended, a brand sent money owed to her directly to Thug by mistake. She has been waiting for that money for 8 to 9 months as of July 16, 2026. When the brand followed up with Thug, she says his response was: “I have spent it and you have to wait.”
FIR Filed at Santacruz Police Station
Kaashvi confirmed in both the video and a series of Instagram posts that she filed an FIR with Mumbai Police. It is registered at Santacruz Police Station. She specifically named the Mumbai Police Commissioner, DCP Zone 9, the Senior PI, and the investigating officer at Santacruz for acting promptly.
From her Instagram post: “After reviewing the records available to me and seeking legal advice, I approached the police and have now officially registered an FIR. The matter is currently under investigation, and I am cooperating fully with the authorities. I have complete faith in the legal process and will allow the investigation to take its course.”
Her legal team has advised her not to discuss the case further while the investigation is ongoing.
Her Message to Other Creators
Near the end of the video, Kaashvi spoke directly to creators, especially those starting out. She said underreporting brand deal values to creators is not exclusive to gaming, she called it common across music, sports, and entertainment wherever agencies handle money.
From her Instagram post: “I’m speaking up because I don’t want another creator, especially someone just starting out, to blindly trust the people managing their career without understanding their finances, contracts, and payments. If sharing my experience prevents even one creator from going through what I did, it’ll be worth it.”
She said creators deserve to be copied on brand emails and to know exactly what each deal is worth. Her current management, she says, operates with complete transparency. The difference, in her words, is significant.
She also said she found what she believes is evidence suggesting the same alleged practice may have affected other creators under the same management. She did not name them and said she did not plan to go into it.
8Bit Thug Has Not Responded
As of July 17, 2026, Animesh Agarwal has not posted anything publicly addressing the video or the FIR. S8UL Esports and 8Bit Creatives have also not issued a statement.
TalkEsport will update this article when a response is made available.
Note: All claims in this article are based solely on statements made by Kaashvi in her YouTube video published on July 16, 2026, and her Instagram posts. TalkEsport has not independently verified any financial figures, alleged incidents, or characterisations in this article. The word “allegedly” applies to all descriptions of 8Bit Thug’s conduct described here. An FIR confirms a complaint has been filed and an investigation is underway. It does not constitute a finding of guilt. 8Bit Thug is accused and has not been proven guilty of any offence. TalkEsport does not take a position on the merits of these allegations and will report any response from the parties involved.
