Singapore Court Greenlights $234M Recovery Plan Amid Lingering Doubts

After more than a year of silence, missed deadlines, and legal hurdles, India-based crypto exchange WazirX has finally won the Singapore High Court’s approval for its long-awaited restructuring plan.

The move, announced by CEO Nischal Shetty on X, was framed as a turning point for the embattled platform — but skeptics say the company’s vague assurances and opaque recovery roadmap could be masking deeper trouble.

“Thank you to everyone who supported this difficult phase of WazirX. The Singapore High Court has approved the scheme.”

Many users read it as an attempt to project stability after months of uncertainty, rather than a concrete plan to return the $234 million lost in last year’s devastating hack.

Court Approval Follows a Year of Rejections, Revisions, and Legal Maneuvering

The High Court’s decision came after months of tense negotiations and two rejected proposals. The latest approval reversed the court’s September ruling, which had flagged “fairness and feasibility” concerns about WazirX’s earlier plan — particularly around how recovery tokens would comply with Singapore’s upcoming digital asset regulations.

This time, however, WazirX restructured the plan through its Singapore-based parent firm, Zettai Pte Ltd, routing repayments via its Indian entity, Zanmai Labs, which is registered with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The fix appears to have satisfied regulators, allowing the exchange to proceed under Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act of 2018 — a process known as a court-supervised Scheme of Arrangement.

That choice was strategic. By opting for a court-supervised restructuring instead of liquidation, WazirX avoided a potential collapse that could have delayed user recoveries until 2030 or beyond. The approved scheme covers about $206.9 million in validated claims from more than 149,000 affected account holders.

Under the plan, WazirX says it will redistribute remaining assets through recovery tokens and partial cash payouts, though it has yet to release full details of how the tokens will function or hold value.

The company previously hinted that repayments could begin within 10 business days of the court order taking effect, but restructuring advisors have already poured cold water on that optimism.

According to George Gwee, a director at Kroll, which is overseeing parts of the process, users might have to wait two to three months before any meaningful distribution begins.

That uncertainty — combined with WazirX’s refusal to publish a detailed repayment timeline — has fueled speculation that the firm is downplaying ongoing liquidity or regulatory constraints.

A Complex Web of Entities and Jurisdictions

The case also highlights the tangled legal and operational structure of WazirX. Zettai Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based entity that filed the restructuring plan, holds custody of crypto assets and liabilities, while Zanmai Labs oversees fiat operations in India.

The arrangement stems from Binance’s 2019 acquisition of Zettai, a deal that remains shrouded in confusion — especially after Binance publicly denied owning or operating WazirX in 2022.

In fact, WazirX’s request for a moratorium from the Singapore High Court was partly meant to prevent global creditors from pursuing claims in multiple jurisdictions. While this helped consolidate the case under Singapore law — ensuring that both Indian and international users are treated uniformly — it also shielded the company from external scrutiny and potential asset freezes.

From Lazarus Hack to Legal Limbo

WazirX’s crisis began in July 2024, when a breach in its Safe Multisig wallet drained $234 million in crypto assets. The attack, linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, forced the exchange to suspend withdrawals and pushed it to the brink of insolvency.

For months, users were left in the dark, receiving sporadic updates and assurances that “plans were underway” — while no tangible repayment occurred.

Even as WazirX touts its court victory, questions remain over whether it has the funds or technical structure to follow through. The company has not disclosed how much of the stolen crypto it has recovered or whether the recovery tokens will have any liquidity or secondary market value.

From a regulatory perspective, the court’s approval gives WazirX breathing room and legal legitimacy. But from a trust standpoint, it raises more red flags than relief. The company’s communications remain vague, selective, and strategically optimistic, leaving the impression that it’s more focused on image rehabilitation than accountability.

The lack of concrete timelines, undisclosed repayment mechanisms, and confusing web of entities — between Zettai, Zanmai, and Binance’s lingering involvement — all suggest that WazirX’s “recovery” narrative may not be as straightforward as it appears.

For users who have been waiting over a year to access their locked funds, Shetty’s words of gratitude might sound less like a victory announcement — and more like a PR exercise designed to buy time.

Whether WazirX can genuinely rebuild credibility will depend not on court rulings or polished statements, but on one simple outcome: users getting their money back. Until that happens, its promises may remain just that — promises.