• The Delhi Police arrested SK Musad Alam from West Bengal for allegedly creating a fake WazirX account, facilitating a $230 million security breach.
  • WazirX has announced plans to resume trading by February 2025 and has set up a creditors committee for its restructuring plan.

In a significant breakthrough, the Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested a man from West Bengal in connection with the massive $230 million hack on the crypto exchange WazirX. The accused, identified as SK Musad Alam, allegedly set up a fake WazirX account under a false name, "Souvik Mondal," which he later sold via Telegram. The account’s buyer, identified as M Hasan, allegedly exploited the account to orchestrate a major security breach, resulting in substantial financial losses.

As per a chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police, digital asset custody provider Liminal, tasked with safeguarding WazirX wallets, has not cooperated with the investigation. Liminal has publicly denied any misconduct, stating that the reports contain “misinformation inco-founder

The arrest comes just days after WazirX announced plans to resume trading by February 2025 as part of its restructuring strategy. A Singapore court recently granted WazirX a four-month moratorium to restructure its liabilities, while the exchange’s creditors committee works on a recovery strategy.

The hack, which has prevented users from accessing their funds during a critical bull market, has spurred frustration among investors. WazirX is working with local and international exchanges to freeze wallet addresses tied to the theft, and Zanmai Labs, the entity managing WazirX in India, has had its laptops seized for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, co-founder of CoinSwitch, Ashish Singhal, recently accused WazirX of transferring $73 million to other exchanges following the incident.

The hack has also impacted WazirX's token, WRX, which trades at $0.12 after a 5.82% drop over the last month. The recent developments continue to raise questions about security and oversight in India’s crypto exchange ecosystem.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah