A crypto wallet address linked to the HECO Chain exploiter transferred and anonymized nearly 40,392 Ether ( ETH ) over the crypto-mixing protocol Tornado Cash within eight days.

According to crypto investigator PeckShield, the HECO Chain exploiter made 19 outbound transfers to Tornado Cash addresses in an attempt to make approximately $145.7 million worth of stolen Ether nearly impossible to trace back.

HECO Chain exploiter anonymizes $145M of Ether on Tornado Cash in 8 days image 0 Source: PeckShield on X

The majority of the funds were sent to a single Tornado Cash address, while one transaction of 0.2 ETH worth $699 was sent separately to a different address in Tornado Cash.

In its largest transaction, the HECO Chain exploiter sent 11,300 ETH — over $39.5 million — in one go. Crypto hackers often resort to routing their loot through Tornado Cash to anonymize the ownership of the funds.

On March 21, an account linked to a $24 million Rocket Pool hack from September 2023 transferred 3,700 ETH to Tornado Cash with the same intention.

HECO Chain exploiter anonymizes $145M of Ether on Tornado Cash in 8 days image 1 Hacker transferring funds to Tornado Cash. Source: Etherscan

According to crypto analytics firm Elliptic, hackers from North Korea’s Lazarus Group resumed using Tornado Cash to launder funds stolen from hacks on March 13.

HECO Chain exploiter anonymizes $145M of Ether on Tornado Cash in 8 days image 2 Flow of funds from HTX/HECO hacks to Tornado Cash. Source: Elliptic

The Tornado Cash protocol was sanctioned in August 2022 by the U.S. Treasury Department for its alleged role in allowing the laundering of over $1 billion in illicit funds, including money linked to the Lazarus Group.

Related: Blockchain Association files support in suit to lift Tornado Cash sanctions

Roman Storm, the co-founder of Tornado Cash, pleaded not guilty before a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last September.

He, along with alleged co-conspirator Roman Semenov, were  charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering , conspiracy to commit sanctions violations and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

On March 10, the Arbitrum DAO removed a proposal seeking to fund the legal defense costs of the Tornado Cash co-founders. According to an Arbitrum spokesperson, the proposal was later deleted at the author’s request:

“I can confirm that the forum was removed at the request of the author of the proposal.”

The reasons underlying this modification remain unclear. Cointelegraph contacted DK — a pseudonymous delegate leading the initiative — for further clarity but did not receive a response.

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