01.08.2025 01:17

Indian authorities apprehended a CoinDCX software engineer, Rahul Agarwal, in connection with a $44 million cryptocurrency theft that occurred in mid-July. Multiple Indian news outlets reported the arrest, citing Bengaluru City police. The arrest followed an internal investigation by Neblio Technologies, CoinDCX's operator, which pinpointed a security breach stemming from the compromise of Agarwal's work laptop login credentials.

Following the July incident, Neblio Technologies launched an internal inquiry, ultimately concluding that unauthorized access to their servers originated from a compromised employee account. Agarwal, a 30-year-old engineer, was subsequently detained. While denying direct involvement in the theft, he admitted to engaging in freelance work for several private clients concurrently with his CoinDCX employment during questioning. His work laptop was seized as part of the investigation.

CoinDCX, through its CEO Sumit Gupta's X post, refrained from commenting directly on Agarwal's arrest, citing the ongoing investigation. Gupta described the incident as a "sophisticated social engineering attack," a tactic frequently employed against company employees. The company urged the public and media to refrain from disseminating unsubstantiated information that could hinder the investigation. A spokesperson for the exchange echoed this sentiment in a statement to internet sources.

According to reports from The Times of India, citing Neblio's vice president for public policy, Hardeep Singh, Agarwal was a permanent employee provided with a company laptop solely for his CoinDCX duties. The investigation began after Neblio detected unauthorized access and the transfer of a significant amount of USDT stablecoins on July 19th. The police investigation is ongoing, with the focus remaining on determining the full extent of Agarwal's involvement and recovering the stolen cryptocurrency.