Police in Bengaluru, India arrested a CoinDCX software engineer in connection with the theft of 3.79 billion rupees ($43.4 million) in crypto assets from the exchange last month, the Times of India reported on Thursday.
Local police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Rahul Agarwal, whose office-issued laptop credentials were allegedly used to access CoinDCX’s internal systems and initiate unauthorized transfers on July 19. The stolen assets were routed to six wallets in a coordinated breach, according to investigators.
Agarwal denied direct involvement, but admitted to freelancing for unknown overseas clients. He also received a 1.5 million rupee deposit and a WhatsApp call from a German number shortly before the incident. Police are investigating whether malware or credential misuse during his side work enabled the hack.
The exchange’s parent company, Neblio Technologies, conducted an internal probe and confirmed that all customer assets remain secure. CoinDCX said it will absorb the losses from its own treasury.
The incident has raised concerns over internal security and potential links to international hacking groups. Authorities are probing possible North Korean involvement, echoing tactics used in prior crypto-related breaches.
The stolen funds have not been recovered. Investigations are ongoing.
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