Fintechs 6lock & qashqade Unite to Fight AI-Driven PE Fraud

AUSTIN, Texas – April 08, 2026 – As private equity firms grapple with increasingly sophisticated financial fraud, two financial technology specialists, 6lock and qashqade, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at fortifying the industry’s defenses. The collaboration integrates qashqade’s automated calculation platform with 6lock’s Verified Money Movement system to address two of the most critical vulnerabilities in modern fund operations: complex manual calculations and insecure transaction processes.

This alliance arrives at a pivotal moment, establishing a new, integrated standard for security and accuracy in a sector that moves trillions of dollars, yet has often relied on outdated, manual-check procedures that are proving dangerously inadequate in the age of artificial intelligence.

The Multi-Billion Dollar Threat to Private Markets

The private equity industry has become a prime target for cybercriminals, who exploit the high value of transactions and a lingering dependence on email and spreadsheets. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported staggering losses of over $12.5 billion to cybercrime in 2023, a figure that surged past $16 billion in the latest reports. A significant portion of this threat is Business Email Compromise (BEC), a type of scam that has become particularly potent when aimed at private equity’s capital call process.

Research from cybersecurity firms reveals that BEC schemes targeting capital calls seek an average of over $800,000 per incident—more than seven times the amount of typical wire scams. In these scenarios, attackers use sophisticated social engineering and AI-powered impersonation to trick firms into wiring funds to fraudulent accounts. High-profile cases have seen firms lose millions, such as the $10 million stolen from Norwegian investment firm Norfund in a single BEC incident.

Compounding the risk, fraudsters are no longer just impersonating executives; they are manipulating the underlying data itself. By altering figures in spreadsheets used for capital calls, deal allocations, and distributions, they create a two-pronged attack that combines data manipulation with impersonation, exponentially increasing the potential for catastrophic financial loss. This leaves firms exposed not only to fraud but also to significant operational and reputational damage from simple human error in complex calculations.

A Two-Pronged Defense: Calculation and Execution

The partnership between 6lock and qashqade is designed to create a seamless, secure workflow that addresses these twin threats head-on by ensuring both the integrity of the numbers and the security of the transaction.

First, qashqade tackles the problem of calculation accuracy. Its platform replaces the error-prone, manual spreadsheet processes used for calculating complex distribution waterfalls, management fees, and carried interest. By using an institutional-grade, auditable engine, it provides fund managers and administrators with verifiable and precise economic outputs, eliminating a key source of operational risk and potential data manipulation.

"Our platform ensures fund managers and administrators have total confidence in their waterfall and carry calculations," said Oliver Freigang, CEO and Co-founder at qashqade, in a statement. "Together with 6lock, we help reinforce confidence across the broader process, from accurate economic outputs through to secure capital movement."

Once the calculations are verified, 6lock secures the second, and most vulnerable, part of the process: moving the money. Its Verified Money Movement (VMM) platform is purpose-built to lock fraud out of fund flows. It operates on an invite-only network where all participants are identity-verified, eliminating the risk of impersonation. This replaces insecure email-and-phone-call verifications with a digitally secure, auditable trail for executing capital calls, distributions, and other high-value payments.

"Private equity has remained dependent on email and phone calls to 'verify' that everything is correct before moving money," noted Todd Sorrel, Co-founder and CEO of 6lock. "The attacker's playbook depends on those channels. Firms stepping up to best practices will use qashqade to make fast, precise calculations — and those same firms will want to ensure those funds land where they're supposed to with 6lock's Verified Money Movement. Together, we eliminate both human error and impersonation-based wire fraud."

Beyond Spreadsheets: The Digitization of Fund Operations

This partnership is emblematic of a larger, necessary digital transformation sweeping through the private markets. For years, the industry has been characterized by bespoke agreements and manual processes, but the rising operational complexity and escalating security threats are forcing a change. The demand for greater efficiency, transparency for Limited Partners (LPs), and robust security is driving the adoption of specialized fintech solutions.

While the market contains numerous point solutions for either calculation or payments, the integration of two best-of-breed platforms into a single, cohesive defense system marks a significant evolution. The value has already been demonstrated by the individual companies. Global fund administrators like IQ-EQ have adopted qashqade to accelerate delivery and reduce operational risk. Meanwhile, 6lock has been credited by clients with preventing major fraud attempts, including one sophisticated scheme that targeted a $25 million distribution.

By combining their strengths, the two companies offer a solution that reduces the operational burden on fund administration and treasury teams, enhances the LP experience through greater transparency and security, and provides a formidable defense against financial crime. This integrated approach allows private market CFOs, COOs, and fund administrators to navigate the escalating risks of the digital age with greater confidence. The era of relying on human workarounds to fight AI-powered fraud is over, and integrated technology is now the critical line of defense.