[ian0]

In my anecdotal experience this is relatively common in SEA too. Not as convoluted as your case, but basic things like (a) collecting information to pass back to a portfolio company they have forgot to disclose or (b) digging for information on competitors on behalf of a founder-friend.

Note its not as if secrets make or break startups in general, so its not a very smart move considering the VC risks reputation damage. And reputational damage is real. The founders doing the best have the most amount of choice and will discount a VC another founder warns them against.

So Id imagine a lot of cases are either junior guys who dont know the ropes, or "semi-honest" things like inadvertently giving hints as to what areas a competitor should look at. They do meet with a lot of companies and learn from them, all that info wont be locked in a vault.