On Friday, blockchain security analyst ZachXBT accused Garden Finance of accepting illicit funds linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group. The allegations arose after co-founder Jaz Gulati posted about the platform's fee collection.
Accusations by ZachXBT
ZachXBT responded to Gulati's post, claiming that over 80% of the platform's fees came from Chinese launderers moving funds stolen during the Bybit hack. "Who are you building for again?" he asked.
Data from Garden Finance Dashboard
According to Dune Dashboard, as of June 19, Garden Finance had processed 24,984 BTC, amounting to approximately $1.5 billion. The largest swap recorded was 10 BTC, while total fees collected reached 40.11 BTC. Gulati contended that 30 BTC in fees were accrued prior to the hack.
Connections to Other Hacks
ZachXBT noted that he hadn't even mentioned funds from other DPRK hacks like WazirX, where over $230 million was stolen. Both incidents employed similar deceptive methods and techniques for laundering stolen funds through decentralized platforms.
The situation surrounding Garden Finance raises complex security questions in DeFi, where allegations of money laundering threaten the platform's reputation and prompt discussions about transparency in decentralized finance.
