The United States confiscated 94,636 Bitcoin from the Bitfinex Hack from 2016 in the greatest crypto fitting so far-2 people have been arrested-
The United States confiscated 94,636 Bitcoin from the Bitfinex Hack from 2016 in the greatest crypto fitting so far-2 people have been arrested-
The US Justice Ministry (DOJ) announced the confiscation of 94,636 bitcoins in direct connection with the hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016. This is the "greatest confiscation of cryptocurrencies" by the DOJ. In addition, two people were arrested in connection with the hack and the stolen cryptocurrency.
stolen bitcoins confiscated by Bitfinex Hack, 2 people arrested
The Ministry of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday that the US government confiscated stolen cryptocurrency, which is directly related to the hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016.
According to the announcement, this is the "greatest confiscation of cryptocurrencies worth more than $ 3.6 billion" by the DoJ at the time of confiscation. At the time of writing, the value of the bitcoin is more than 4 billion US dollar. The Ministry of Justice wrote:
So far, the law enforcement authorities have confiscated cryptocurrencies worth over 3.6 billion US dollars in connection with this hack.
In addition, two people-Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Heather Morgan, 31-were arrested from the Bitfinex hack due to "alleged conspiracy for washing stolen cryptocurrency worth $ 4.5 billion. Court documents show in particular that they have "supposedly conspiracy to wash the revenues of 119,754 Bitcoin", which were stolen by the cryptocurrency exchange.In the Bitfinex-Hack 2016, stolen bitcoins were transferred to more than 2,000 transactions into a crypto wallet controlled by Lichtenstein. Stolen about 25,000 stolen in the past five years Bitcoin were transferred from his crypto letter bag "via a complicated money laundering process", the doj stuck and added that some of the stolen funds were paid into financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan.
The rest of the stolen funds consisting of about 94,636 bitcoins, remained in the wallet, the Ministry of Justice continued.
"After the enforcement of a legally approved search commands from online accounts, which are controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan, special agents have access to files within a online account controlled by Lichtenstein," the doj explained and stated:
These files contained the private keys that are required to access the digital wallet that received the funds stolen from Bitfinex directly, and made it possible to confiscate and regain special agents to bit.
The deputy FBI director Paul M. Abbate said: "Today's case is a memory of the fact that the FBI has the tools to follow the digital trace wherever it may lead."
The deputy general prosecutor Lisa O. Monaco commented:
Today's arrests and the greatest financial confiscation of the department so far show that cryptocurrency is not a safe port for criminals.
Lichtenstein and Morgan used “numerous sophisticated washing techniques”, describes the complaint. The techniques included the use of fictitious identities for the establishment of online accounts, the use of computer programs for the automation of transactions, the deposit of stolen funds on accounts on various cryptocurrency exchanges and intestinal markets and the use of "anonymity-further virtual currency (AEC)" in a practice that "chain hopping".
"Lichtenstein and Morgan are accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which is threatened with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the conspiracy of the United States, which is threatened with a maximum penalty of five years in prison," concluded the Ministry of Justice.
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