WazirX seeks moratorium as it looks to restructure its liabilities
Zettai Pte Ltd., the Singapore-based holding company that controls Indian crypto exchange WazirX through its subsidiary Zanmai India, has filed an application for a moratorium with the Singaporean High Court, under section 64 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.
Six months requested
In the filing (HC/OA 861/2024), the company has pleaded with the court to be granted a six-month moratorium, which would give the firm the space and time needed to restructure its liabilities. The company laid out details of its moratorium application in a blog post published to its website on August 28.
The firm outlined that a moratorium represents “ the most efficient way to address users’ cryptocurrency balances on the Platform and facilitate recovery for users.”
An automatic moratorium of 30 days has effectively been granted as a consequence of the application itself, and it is up to the court if it approves the six-month moratorium that is being sought. A date for the hearing of that matter has yet to be scheduled.
$234 million hack fallout
WazirX has been dealing with the fallout from a $234 million hack which occurred in July. One key entity that is owed funds is Indian crypto app CoinSwitch. In an effort to get its funds back, the company has sued WazirX. Taking to the X social media platform, CoinSwitch outlined why it felt the need to take legal action. It stated:
"From the day of the incident, we have tried to be in constant touch with the WazirX team, seeking recovery of the funds that are stuck on their exchange. However, our efforts have not come to fruition."
In a follow-up tweet, CoinSwitch assured its own users that its exposure to WazirX has no impact on user balances. The company has WazirX exposure that amounts to 2% of its overall user funds. That exposure is reduced further if WazirX’ claim that only ERC-20 tokens were affected is taken on board, accounting for 1% of CoinSwitch user deposits.
White Knight
WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty spoke to the notion of a “white knight” in an affidavit submitted under the Zettai name to support the application. He outlined that WazirX is in talks with 11 crypto exchanges and has signed three non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The company has also received offers for financing and for partnering with Zettai, the WazirX parent company.
WazirX has outlined that it has set aside $12 million in digital assets to cover legal and associated costs that the company anticipates incurring as part of its restructuring efforts.
Matters are further compounded by the fact that a cloud hangs over the ownership of the company. Shetty has claimed that he is no longer an owner of the exchange. In 2022, he wrote that Binance had acquired WazirX. Around the same time frame, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao (CZ) outlined that Binance didn’t control WazirX systems.
India’s economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate, has claimed in the past that Shetty has gone out of his way to obscure the ownership structure by way of a complex chain of companies in Singapore.
