Delhi police arrest key suspect in $235m WazirX hack case: report

Delhi police have arrested a West Bengal resident in connection with a hacker attack that siphoned $235 million worth of cryptocurrency from WazirX.

According to India Today’s news, based on the police file, Indian authorities arrested a suspect who carried out a $235 million attack on the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX. Police reportedly arrested SK Masud Alam, a resident of West Bengal, after the suspect allegedly set up a fake WazirX account, which was later used to orchestrate the hack.

In the report, Delhi police allege that Alam created a fake account under the name “Souvik Mondal” and sold it via Telegram to “M Hasan”, who then used the account to access WazirX’s multi-signature wallet and steal money. The police report also reveals that as part of the investigation, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations division sought cooperation from Liminal Custody, a crypto custody provider tasked with securing WazirX’s wallets.

Crypto custodian WazirX faces scrutiny in hacking case

However, Liminal Custody reportedly did not respond to multiple requests for information, raising concerns about its security audit. Police said Liminal’s role will be further examined in a follow-up report as the investigation continues.

In an effort to track the misuse of WazirX’s multi-signature wallets, police seized three laptops that authorized signatories at the exchange used to confirm transactions. Although the details are not yet clear, the report states that WazirX provided transaction data, identity records and transaction logs to authorities. According to India Today, initial findings from the Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center found no evidence of unauthorized access to WazirX’s internal systems, either locally or remotely.

WazirX suffered a loss of $235 million due to the cyber attack on July 18, which severely affected the exchange and led it to seek a Plan of Arrangement in Singapore, a restructuring process under local bankruptcy laws. An independent audit by Grant Thornton later found no evidence that Liminal Custody’s infrastructure was involved in the multi-million dollar hack.