WORLDTECHOnchain Investigator Links $106 Million Theft From EU Entity to Monero Laundering
Onchain investigator ZachXBT says more than $106 million may have been stolen from an unnamed EU entity's accounts at several centralised exchanges. He says the suspected thief moved the funds toward Monero, and he is highly confident the culprit is not North Korea's Lazarus Group.
What the investigator has published so far
In a community alert posted to his Telegram channel on Sunday, ZachXBT said the funds were taken from accounts the EU entity held at multiple centralised exchanges. Reports from The Defiant and Unchained carry the same account of the alert.
He did not name the victim or the exchanges involved. He did publish 11 addresses and a graph produced with TRM Labs that traces the money toward Monero and a Tron bridge.
Stablecoins withdrawn and laundering route
According to the alert, the suspected thief withdrew the money as USDC, the dollar-pegged token issued by Circle, and as USDT, the dollar-pegged token issued by Tether. Onchain, the attacker moved the funds through ether, instant exchanges and Monero.
ZachXBT wrote that he could say with a high degree of confidence that the attack was not carried out by Lazarus Group, citing multiple laundering indicators, though he did not specify those indicators.
What remains unconfirmed
The figure is described as possible rather than established: more than $106 million may have been stolen. The identity of the victim, the exchanges affected and the attacker remain unknown in the reporting so far.
Open questions
- Which EU entity lost the funds, and which exchanges held the accounts?
- Which laundering indicators led the investigator to rule out Lazarus Group?
- How much of the suspected $106 million has been recovered or frozen?