WazirX granted four-month moratorium to restructure its liabilities after $230 million hack

Zettai Pte Ltd, the Singapore holding company behind the Indian crypto exchange WazirX, has been granted a four-month moratorium by the High Court of Singapore to restructure its liabilities following the platform’s $230 million exploit in July. 

The application was filed on Aug. 27 by Zettai Director Nischal Shetty and is designed to provide “breathing space” for the firm to address users’ cryptocurrency balances on the platform and facilitate their recovery, Zettai said at the time.

An automatic moratorium of 30 days commenced following the application, though the court’s subsequent approval falls short of the six-month moratorium originally requested.

“We are thankful for the court’s decision, which allows us to focus on our path to resolution, recovery and restructuring," WazirX founder Nischal Shetty said in a statement shared with The Block. "Our immediate filing for the moratorium was a decisive step taken to ensure the fastest, fairest, creditor-approved, legally binding path to resolution where creditors have a token choice and potential upside in a bull run.”

Under the court’s conditions for the approval, WazirX said it would make its wallet addresses public, respond to user queries raised in the courtroom, release its financial information and ensure future voting for court applications is scrutinized by independent parties. “We are working diligently with our advisors and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs of parties involved,” it stated.

“WazirX will continue to provide updates on our progress and further developments. We are steadfast in our commitment to resolve this matter efficiently and equitably,” Shetty added.

WazirX’s exploit, Binance’s accusations and the hacker’s Tornado Cash transfers

WazirX suffered an exploit resulting in the unauthorized transfer of over $230 million worth of crypto assets on July 18. The exploit targeted the exchange’s multisig wallet on the Ethereum network, potentially resulting from a private key compromise, and drained the funds. 

The crypto exchange paused withdrawals the same day but only halted trading across its platform a few days later as it continued dealing with the exploit's fallout. 

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said in a July report that onchain data indicated the attack was perpetrated by the North Korean Lazarus Group, a notorious state-sponsored hacking organization known for executing high-profile exploits.

Last week, Binance reiterated its claim that it does not own, control or operate WazirX in any way. While a contract was signed at one point between the parties, the transaction was never closed due to “Zettai’s failure to perform its obligations,” the crypto exchange giant said.

Binance accused Shetty of making “misleading statements” to the contrary in two subsequently submitted affidavits in support of its application to the High Court.

Meanwhile, the entity behind the WazirX hack continues to move the stolen funds in tranches, frequently 5,000 ether ($13 million), to the U.S.-sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash, with the latest transfers made on Wednesday.

Sending funds to a mixer is a common tactic cybercriminals use to make it harder for law enforcement to track and recover stolen crypto.

The attacker has transferred more than 61,500 ether ($161 million) to the crypto mixer so far, according to the onchain analytics platform Arkham.