Three Arrows co-founder Zhu Su gets restraining order against BitMEX co-founder for harassment

CO-FOUNDER of failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) Zhu Su has been granted a protection order from the state courts against crypto exchange BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.

Checks by The Straits Times found that the order, dated May 5, prohibits Hayes from using any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or making any threatening, abusive or insulting communication that would cause Zhu harassment, alarm or distress.

Hayes was also barred from publishing any identity information about Zhu.

The order was first reported about by cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk earlier on Wednesday (May 10).

Hayes had been tweeting at Zhu and 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies primarily with the request to return the US$6 million (S$7.95 million) that he claims he was owed after the hedge fund tanked in 2022.

In one tweet on Apr 13, Hayes responded to a post promoting Zhu and Davies’ new crypto marketplace OPNX by asking for the 3AC’s founders’ whereabouts.

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He also blasted attempts by the two to raise funds for their new platform, CoinDesk reported.

A copy of the order was served to Hayes via Twitter.

Under the Protection from Harassment Act, failure to comply with the order could result in a fine of up to S$5,000, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

Both Hayes and Zhu have previously drawn flak for their crypto ventures.

In 2022, Hayes was fined US$10 million and sentenced to six months of home confinement as well as two years of probation for failing to prevent money launderers at BitMEX.

Meanwhile, the 3AC founders have spent months battling liquidators looking to recover assets for creditors of their fallen fund after it failed last summer.

3AC was set up in 2012 by Zhu and Davies, who are both Singapore citizens. The pair had attended United States high school Philips Academy and Columbia University together, and worked as traders at Credit Suisse.

The two men previously said 3AC, registered in the British Virgin Islands, had more than US$4 billion in assets under management at its peak.

In May, the Dubai authorities reprimanded the pair for operating and promoting OPNX without the required local licence. THE STRAITS TIMES