Hackers behind Rs 2,000 crore WazirX theft begin laundering stolen assets

NEW DELHI: The hackers behind the Rs 2,000 crore (about $234 million) WazirX theft have started withdrawing the stolen digital assets and have reportedly laundered more than $12 million via Tornado Cash platform.

According to Blockchain security firm Cyvers, more than $12 million in Ethereum (ETH) has been laundered through Tornado Cash, including deposits of about $2 million in ETH.

“@WazirXIndia hacker just transferred 5,000 ETH worth $12 million to a new address,” Cyvers posted, adding that the hacker has started laundering stolen funds via Tornado Cash.

Tornado Cash is an open source, non-custodial, fully decentralised cryptocurrency mixer platform that runs on Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks.

According to industry analysts, the WazirX hacker’s laundering tactics resembling those employed by the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group which is behind more than $2 billion in crypto thefts worldwide. Lazarus Group often uses Tornado Cash to obscure its transactions as part of a sophisticated laundering process.

Meanwhile, WazirX has admitted that nearly 43 per cent of its users are likely to lose their money stolen in digital assets. WazirX has about 4.2 million users from India.

The platform said in a town-hall meeting earlier this week, attended by WazirX Co-founder Nischal Shetty, that customers will probably lose 43 per cent of the funds they had invested in the platform.

George Gwee, a director at restructuring firm Kroll working with WazirX, reportedly said that the best-case scenario is a return of “anywhere between 55 per cent and 57 per cent of the funds.”

The Singapore High Court was set to hear WazirX’s request for six months’ protection while it restructures its liabilities.

According to legal experts, a thorough investigation by state authorities is needed considering the magnitude of the cyber-crime. The whole episode reiterates the increasing need for effective regulation and rules for crypto-trading in India which can help safeguard investors and broader national interests, they added.

In the mean time, Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinSwitch has sued WazirX to recover the funds stuck on Shetty-run platform.