The Fantom Foundation, responsible for developing the Fantom Network, has secured a favorable ruling from the High Court of Singapore in its legal dispute against the cross-chain protocol Multichain.
In July 2023, the Foundation suffered losses exceeding $210 million due to an exploit involving Multichain.
In response, it initiated legal action against Multichain Foundation, citing “breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentations” as the causes of Fantom’s losses.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the company expressed its ongoing efforts, stating, “Since the July 2023 Multichain exploit, Fantom Foundation’s management and legal team have been diligently working across multiple jurisdictions to establish a path forward for victims to partially recover lost assets.”
According to Fantom’s assertions, numerous efforts were made to engage with the former directors and key personnel of the Multichain Foundation. However, these attempts proved futile, prompting the firm to initiate legal action against Multichain in Singapore, where Multichain is registered.
The lack of cooperation from the Multichain team resulted in “complexities in addressing the exploit,” as stated in a blog post released on Monday.
“We are pleased to announce that on January 30, 2024, the Honorable Registrar Tan Boon Heng of the General Division of the High Court of Singapore granted a default judgment ruling in Fantom’s favor.”
Fantom Plans Multichain Liquidation to Recover Funds
Fantom took further action by petitioning the Singapore court to appoint a liquidator for Multichain, aiming to potentially recover the lost funds.
“A court-appointed liquidator possesses the necessary expertise to assist in tracing and recovering assets, along with unique legal powers,” the company stated.
Additionally, a liquidator would act in the best interests of all creditors, Fantom emphasized. Leveraging its legal victory against Multichain, Fantom intends to enlist qualified experts to recover and distribute assets.
Unfortunately, the foundation faced another setback in October, experiencing a significant loss of approximately $6.7 million worth of digital assets in another hack. According to estimates from blockchain security firm Certik, attackers siphoned off nearly $657,000 worth of crypto assets in the incident involving the Fantom Foundation.
