WazirX Hacker Moves $32M Stolen Ether in Four Days to Tornado Cash as Binance Denies Founder’s Claims
Hackers has moved 15,000 ETH, in tranches of 5,000, since Monday.
The hacker still holds over $50 million in tokens.
Amid an ongoing restructuring, WazirX founder Nischal Shetty has previously blamed both custodian Liminal and Binance for the situation. However, both parties have denied these claims, highlighting WazirX’s attempt to deflect responsibility for losing user funds.
Stolen funds from beleaguered Indian crypto exchange WazirX are on the move as executives continue to shift blame amid an ongoing restructuring in Singapore.
Hackers behind the WazirX’s $230 million hack from July, moved a tranche of 5,000 ether (ETH) early Thursday to privacy service Tornado Cash. They have moved 15,000 ether in batches of 5,000 since Monday night, data tracked by on-chain tool Arkham shows.
As of Thursday morning, the hacker’s wallet still hold over $50 million worth of tokens, majorly ether.
Tornado Cash allows crypto users to exchange tokens while masking wallet addresses on various blockchains. The service, by itself, is not nefarious but is commonly used by crypto criminals to clean an online trail that could lead to the identity of those moving stolen funds.
In July, WazirX was hit by a security breach in one of its multisig wallets, causing over $100 million in shiba inu (SHIB) and $52 million in ether, among other assets, to be drained from the exchange.
The stolen funds accounted for over 45% of the total reserves cited by the exchange in a June 2024 report – and the exchange has since filed for a restructuring process to clear liabilities.
WazirX founder Nischal Shetty shifted blame several times during the restructuring period. They first said the hack was possible due to a mistake on custodian Liminal’s end, a claim that Liminal rejected.
In late August, Shetty claimed crypto exchange Binance held majority of the funds belonging to WazirX parent Zettai Labs, restricting the former’s ability to repay affected customers from its books.
But Binance squashed the claims in a blog post earlier this week.
“The WazirX team and Nischal Shetty continue to mislead WazirX customers and the market regarding the relationship between WazirX and Binance,” it wrote in a statement. “Binance has not owned, controlled, or operated WazirX at any time, including before, during, or after the July 2024 attack.”
“Their attempts to shift responsibility is a disappointing deflection tactic, but it should not distract anyone from the glaring issue to be addressed here: the need for the WazirX team to be held accountable for user funds lost under their management,” Binance added.
