Hackers Send Stolen Coins Worth IDR 104 Billion To Tornado Cash Anti-Trace Platform

Crypto hackers send stolen coins to Tornado Cash. (Photo; Doc. Cryptomist)

JAKARTA - Hackers involved in the theft of more than US$235 million (approximately Rp3.76 trillion) from the WazirX crypto exchange are back in action. The digital wallet linked to this hacker was detected moving funds worth US$6.5 million (approximately Rp104 billion) through Tornado Cash services, a crypto mixer that has been sanctioned by international authorities. This action adds to concerns amid WazirX's efforts to restore their financial operations following the massive hack.

In a post on platform X on September 3, Cyvers, a blockchain security platform, revealed that the hacker had transferred 2,600 Ether (ETH), which is currently worth 6.5 million US dollars (approximately IDR 104 billion) to Tornado Cash. This transaction is strongly suspected to be aimed at disguising traces of proceeds from crime to make it more difficult to track.

Data from the crypto tracking platform, DeBank, shows that on September 2, the hacker's digital wallet still stores US$6.7 million (around Rp107.2 billion). However, after making 26 separate transactions, each worth 100 ETH, in just one hour, the remaining balance is now only US$154,000 (around Rp2.46 billion).

This hacker action coincides with an announcement from WazirX on September 3 that it has accelerated the process of withdrawing funds for its users. Users can now withdraw up to 66 percent of their Indian Rupee token (INR) balance, faster than the original schedule planned for September 9.

After the $235 million hack on July 18, WazirX has drawn up a gradual plan to restore their financial operations. One of the steps in the plan is to reopen the withdrawal of funds in the form of Indian Rupees which began on August 26.

However, on August 23, the exchange announced that 34 percent of the balance in INR was still "frozen" and could not be withdrawn immediately due to ongoing investigations with various law enforcement agencies.

In addition, WazirX also revealed that there are still legal obstacles related to withdrawing funds in the form of cryptocurrencies. The exchange also states that it is undergoing a legal restructuring process in Singapore, which was chosen as the jurisdiction for the process.