WazirX Hack News: FIU Launches Probe Into Exchange’s Security Failures
By Shikha Singh
WazirX is now in hot water, as the Finance Ministry has instructed the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to investigate the exchange following a case filed in connection with the hack.
This all began after a catastrophic hack in July 2024 that saw North Korean hackers walk away with a jaw-dropping $234 million in stolen crypto. But the drama doesn’t stop there.
On February 14, 2025, the Indian Ministry of Finance ramped up the pressure, directing the FIU to dig deep into WazirX’s operations after months of mounting concerns over the platform’s security flaws and potential fraudulent activities.
The hack itself was a massive blow to WazirX, putting over ₹4500 crore of users’ funds at risk. In fact, nearly 43% of its users are now staring down the barrel of permanent losses, and the fallout has left the platform scrambling for answers.
But the hack is just the tip of the iceberg. Authorities have dug deeper and uncovered alarming red flags.
WazirX has been accused of failing to enforce basic KYC checks, allowing bad actors and possibly money laundering to slip through the cracks.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already called out the platform for weak transaction controls, particularly in its dealings with Binance.
This has raised serious questions about the platform’s integrity, leading to suspicions of shady financial practices that go beyond simple negligence.
In response to all this chaos, WazirX has thrown out a lifeline in the form of a “Scheme of Arrangement”—an attempt to restructure its liabilities and offer users a recovery plan.
If approved, users could recover up to 85.3% of their funds in USD terms from the Rebalanced Net Liquid Platform Assets.
Voting will be open from March 19th to 28th, 2025. If the Scheme is successful, users will receive their share within 10 business days after the vote, with the first distribution expected by April/May 2025.
Voting YES ensures faster recovery, fair distribution, and the opportunity to participate in future profit-sharing from the platform’s reactivation.
However, if the restructuring fails, liquidation could lead to delays and lower recoveries. And the liquidation won’t commence until the ownership dispute between Zanmai & Zettai is resolved.
But let’s be real: with so many questions hanging in the air and no clear resolution in sight, it’s hard to see this as anything more than a temporary Band-Aid. And the drama doesn’t end there. As the investigation intensifies, there are whispers that WazirX’s top brass, including co-founder Nischal Shetty, could be staring down the barrel of serious legal consequences.
If the FIU uncovers evidence of financial misconduct, executives could face criminal charges—and potentially jail time. This could mark the beginning of a full-blown crackdown on the crypto sector in India, signaling the end of the wild west era of digital currencies.
WazirX’s fate now hangs in the balance. If the FIU’s investigation uncovers wrongdoing, it could reshape the entire landscape for cryptocurrency exchanges in India. Regulators might impose tighter controls, and exchanges could face heightened accountability like never before. All eyes are on WazirX as the investigation unfolds—what happens next could change the future of crypto in India forever.
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