WazirX Freezes USD 3 Million Stolen Funds

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX on Friday said it has frozen the first tranche of assets which were stolen during last year's cyberattack worth USD 3 million.

In a statement announcing the freezing of about USD 3 million in stolen assets (USDT), Founder Nischal Shetty said WazirX is fully committed to recovering the stolen funds "leaving no stone unturned to maximise recoveries under a scheme".

"As part of the ongoing recovery efforts following last year's cyberattack, WazirX has been successful in freezing the first tranche of assets that were stolen during the cyberattack worth USD 3 million USDT," according to WazirX statement.

Abiding by efforts of recovery of stolen assets, while the platform goes through restructuring proceedings, Zettai (WazirX parent) has been working in partnership with law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, investigating authorities as well as legal experts to trace and retrieve stolen assets while charting the best course of action for all of the platform's affected users, it further said.

It is pertinent to mention here that in July 2024, WazirX parent firm Zettai Pte suffered a theft in which over USD 230 million which was stolen from its platform. The crypto heist, the largest of its kind in India, had prompted a thorough examination of security measures and eroded sentiments around the decentralised world of cryptocurrencies.

"Efforts to recover stolen assets are fully underway and moving in the right direction - between on-chain forensic work and legal avenues against third parties complicit in the Hack and subsequent dissipation, the company is well prepared to maximise the recovery of stolen assets for the benefit of scheme creditors under a scheme," Jason Kardachi, Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Restructuring Practice, Kroll said.