Attacker behind AnubisDAO rug pull transfers another $5.9m to Tornado Cash

An address linked to the 2021 AnubisDAO rug pull has reportedly moved another 3,000 ethereum (ETH) valued at about $5.9m via Tornado Cash, a token mixer.

AubisDAO attacker moving funds to Tornado Cash

According to a May 6 alert from blockchain security firm Certik, an address linked to the AnubisDAO rug pull deposited 3,000 ETH into the sanctioned crypto tumbler Tornado Cash, almost a year after it laundered 1,018 ETH, then valued at $1.18m, through the same platform.

#CertiKSkynetAlert ?

We are seeing a movement of stolen funds into @TornadoCash

EOA 0xa570d… deposits ~3000 ETH ( ~$5.9M) into the mixer.

Funds originate from AnubisDAO which exit scammed for $60M back in Oct 2021.

See more ?https://t.co/pbk178Z6fg

Stay vigilant!

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) May 5, 2023

The latest transfer comes barely a month after Peckshield, a blockchain data security and analysis company, reported that the same wallet had moved 3,000 wrapped ETH (wETH) worth approximately $5.6m on April 9.

#PeckShieldAlert #AnubisDAO Liquidity Rug 3 has transferred 3,000 $WETH (~$5.6M) to 0x0D19…bbb https://t.co/0EQGc0PUGm pic.twitter.com/oJuDaqj7E9

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 8, 2023

At the time, another on-chain analysis firm, Arkham Intelligence, confirmed that the address associated with the AnubisDAO attacker still held 7,000 ETH valued at $13m.

In total, the scammer has laundered about 9,500 ETH through Tornado Cash.

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Investors lost $60m in rug pulls

AnubisDAO was a crypto project looking to ride the “dog-coin” craze that had gripped the crypto community.

It posed as a fork of OlympusDAO, a decentralized reserve currency funded through bond sales and liquidity provider fees.

The team built a Discord server and created a Twitter account. Despite lacking a website, crypto enthusiasts still poured $60m during the token sale, buying the project’s native ANKH tokens.

However, 20 hours into the token sale, with the project having raised 13,597 ETH, the pool’s liquidity was transferred to a different address, prompting investors to suspect the startup’s developers had made off with the money.

Because there was no liquidity for trading ANKH, the rug pull effectively drove the token’s price to zero.

After the rug pull, one of the DAO’s leaders, Sisyphus, claimed that the project’s biggest mistake was allowing a single developer to completely manage its liquidity pool.

Read more: CertiK freezes $160k stolen in Merlin DEX insider rug pull

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