Following a $234.9 million hack, Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has filed a report with law enforcement and initiated preparations to recover client assets.
? Update: In response to the cyber attack, we have filed a police complaint and are pursuing additional legal actions. We will keep the community updated as we proceed.
» Immediate Actions: We have reported the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and CERT-In.…
— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) July 19, 2024
“We have reported the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit of India and CERT-In. We have reached out to over 500 exchanges to block identified addresses. Many platforms are cooperating, and we are actively working with them to find additional resources for recovery [of funds],” the statement reads.
WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty wrote a separate post announcing the preparation of a bounty program. The initiative aims to assist in the “freezing or recovery” of stolen assets.
WazirX Team is actively working on next steps.
1. We’re preparing a bounty program to help us freeze/recover the stolen assets
2. Further discussions on continuous tracing of fund movements, we’re in touch with a few teams that claim to be experts at this.
3. We’ve informed all…— Nischal (Shardeum) ? (@NischalShetty) July 20, 2024
The exchange team is also in discussions with several expert groups specializing in tracking cryptocurrency transactions, Shetty added.
“We have informed other trading platforms. Some have responded, others have not. We are monitoring this. Their support in recovery will be crucial as the stolen funds move,” he noted.
Currently, the team is analyzing data to assess the extent of the damage. According to the company’s co-founder, this “unprecedented attack on one of India’s largest crypto exchanges has negatively impacted the entire Web3 ecosystem.”
Earlier, analysts from Elliptic traced the movement of funds stolen from WazirX. They concluded that North Korean hackers were behind the breach.
Back in early 2022, the exchange was accused of evading taxes amounting to over $6 million.
In August of the same year, India’s Ministry of Finance Enforcement Directorate suspected WazirX of laundering $350 million. According to media reports, the regulator froze the platform’s assets worth $8.16 million as part of the case. Later, the company regained access to the accounts thanks to its cooperation with the investigation.