The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet in the Patiala House Courts in connection with the cyberattack on cryptocurrency exchange WazirX that resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 2,000 crore in digital assets.
The charge sheet said that accused SK Masud Alam allegedly opened a fake account under the name Souvik Mondal and sold it to another individual named M Hasan on Telegram. Hasan allegedly used the account to breach the crypto exchange.
The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) division of Delhi Police found that cybercriminals reportedly drained WazirX’s hot wallet and then attempted to breach the cold wallet, which stores funds offline with enhanced security.
As per the charge sheet, the Delhi Police tried to gather important information from Liminal Custody, the firm responsible for securing WazirX’s wallets. However, Lemonade allegedly refused to cooperate with the probe.
It said despite multiple notices, Liminal failed to provide crucial information to the police, hindering their efforts to trace the stolen crypto assets. This lack of cooperation raised questions about the security firm’s protocols and it’s accountability in the Rs 2,000 crore theft.
The Delhi Police did not find any evidence of unauthorised access to WazirX’s systems, noted the charge sheet, adding that WazirX fully cooperated with the authorities and provided them with details of KYC and transaction logs.
Police seized laptops from WazirX to investigate the alleged misuse of multi-signature wallets. The charge sheet indicated that Liminal Custody’s role in the hack would be further investigated and addressed in a supplementary charge sheet.
Popular Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, suffered a cyberattack in July this year, resulting in a theft of over 230 million dollars (Rs 2,000 crore) in digital assets. The breach involved a multi-signature wallet, impacting nearly 45 percent of WazirX’s holdings.