An unexpected figure buried deep in Zanmai Labs’ latest annual report has reignited the debate over WazirX’s governance. The document lists a ₹342.28‑crore payment in 2021‑22 to Qizil21 Software Pvt Ltd, a private company controlled by exchange co‑founder Nischal Shetty and his wife, Moujhuri Guha.
A year earlier, the same ledger sheet recorded just ₹28 crore for Qizil21. No supplementary notes clarify why an eleven‑fold jump in “business auxiliary services” became necessary within twelve months.
While the spotlight falls on that headline sum, another detail inches the story toward intrigue. Shibuya Labs LLP, also tied to Shetty and Guha, received ₹35.5 crore in 2020‑21, then only ₹2.14 crore the next year.
One faucet opened wide, the other almost shut. Forensic accountants who reviewed the numbers point out that such mirrored swings often precede questions about fund‑routing strategies, especially when beneficiary firms share the same household.
TooFAAN Army—an account that has long tracked WazirX, has posted frequent updates, especially following last July’s ₹2,000‑crore hack, which first drew public attention to the transactions. Members spent months scouring hundreds of pages of statutory disclosures.
Their concern is straightforward: enormous sums left user custody long before hackers ever touched the platform, yet victims still await restitution.
Who is Responsible for Wazirx? Nischal Shetty or Changpeng Zhao
The timeline adds context to Binance’s dramatic distancing in August 2022. When Changpeng Zhao announced that his exchange had never finalised the 2019 WazirX acquisition, observers struggled to explain the sudden reversal.
The situation became more complex following the ₹2000 crore hack, as Nischal Shetty has maintained my way or highway attitude. Shetty asserts that if users don’t comply with their plan, he won’t release funds until the Binance dispute is solved.
With ₹342 crore now shown flowing to a founder‑owned firm, the earlier retreat looks less abrupt and more pre‑emptive. If Nischal had already sold Wazirx, why was it still paying his firm such large amounts?
Regulatory patience appears thin. The Enforcement Directorate has already frozen selected WazirX assets on two occasions, and lawyers close to the case expect additional summonses after the latest disclosures.
Under Section 188 of the Companies Act, related‑party transactions must demonstrate a clear commercial rationale. If investigators conclude that the services in question lacked substance, provisions of the Prevention of Money‑Laundering Act could enter the frame.
Investor confidence, once buoyed by WazirX’s status as India’s largest crypto marketplace, has faded. Industry analysts cite a pattern: sudden growth, loose controls, and large payments that resist easy explanation.
For many traders still locked out of their accounts since the hack, the figure ₹342 crore now defines the gap between promised transparency and perceived reality.
Repeated requests for comment sent to WazirX, Zanmai Labs, and Nischal Shetty remained unanswered at the time of publication. The silence, paired with an expanding paper trail, leaves regulators, former customers, and market watchers facing the same unresolved question: was the exchange’s biggest vulnerability external hackers or decisions made in‑house long before the breach?
Also Read: Nischal Transferred 100% Shares to His Wife Weeks After WazirX Hack
