Hacked Multichain Closes Over Lack of Fund as CEO Remains with Police

• Chinese authorities have arrested Multichain CEO and his sister.
• Multichain lost access keys to MPC node servers following the arrest.
• The Multichain team decide to cease operations given the lack of funds.

Multichain, the recently hacked cross-chain router protocol, took to Twitter to reveal that its CEO, Zhao Jun, and his sister, have been apprehended by Chinese authorities for unknown crimes.

Multichain noted that Jun has been unreachable since his disappearance on May 21, 2023, causing significant disruption within the internal team. Troubling development surfaced when the team discovered its access keys to the MPC node servers had been revoked. The servers operated under Jun’s personal cloud server account, preventing all team members from accessing the crucial MPC servers.

It was revealed that the authorities had confiscated all of Jun’s electronic devices, including his computers, phones, hardware wallets, and mnemonic phrases. Compounding the issue, Jun had sole control over operational funds and investments since the project’s inception. This meant the team’s funds and server access were now locked behind the veil of Jun and the Chinese police.

However, the Multichain team decided to operate the project to the best of its abilities using the remaining access on non-MPC servers yet to be revoked. Based on legal advice, the team cooperated as much as possible with Jun’s family, abiding by local laws and regulations and refraining from disclosing unauthorized information about the case to the public.

Meanwhile, on July 7, a distressing incident occurred when user assets locked on the MPC addresses were abruptly transferred to unknown addresses. According to Multichain, the CEO’s sister found login details from an IP address on the cloud server platform, with multiple transactions diverting funds from the MPC addresses.

In response to the escalating situation, Jun’s sister transferred the remaining user assets to the router pool. She promptly notified the Multichain team and various project parties about this asset preservation action. These funds were transferred to two EOA addresses controlled by Jun’s sister.

Regrettably, on July 13, Jun’s sister was taken into custody by the police with no contact, leaving the status of the preserved assets uncertain. With no alternative sources of information or operational funds, the Multichain team has decided to suspend project operations indefinitely.