SINGAPORE - 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 Mr Hayes from using any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or making any threatening, abusive or insulting communication that would cause Mr Zhu harassment, alarm or distress.
Mr Hayes was also barred from publishing any identity information about Mr Zhu.
The order was first reported about by cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk earlier on Wednesday.
Mr Hayes had been tweeting at Mr 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 April 13, Mr Hayes responded to a post promoting Mr Zhu and Mr Davies’ new crypto marketplace OPNX by asking for the 3AC’s founders’ whereabouts.
He also blasted attempts by the two to raise funds for their new platform, CoinDesk reported.
A copy of the order was served to Mr Hayes via Twitter.
Under the Protection from Harassment Act, failure to comply with the order could result in a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
Both Mr Hayes and Mr Zhu have previously drawn flak for their crypto ventures.
In 2022, Mr 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 Mr Zhu and Mr 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.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.