FBI cooperates with Citibank, Sony and Japanese authorities to confiscate Bitcoin worth $ 180 million-regulation

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took measures in cooperation with Citibank, Sony and Japanese law enforcement authorities to "return more than $ 154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of the Sony Group Corporation in Tokyo". The US Ministry of Justice stated: "As a result of these coordinated efforts, the investigators received the 'private key' ... that is necessary to access the Bitcoin address."

Citibank and Sony help the FBI to confiscate Bitcoin worth $ 180 million

The US Ministry of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that the United States "submitted a civil legal complaint" to "return more than $ 154 million in funds that were said to have been stolen from a subsidiary of the Sony Group Corporation".

The FBI and various Japanese law enforcement authorities examined the case "with considerable support from Sony and Citibank", according to the announcement details and added:

As a result of these coordinated efforts, the investigators received the "private key" ... that is required to access the Bitcoin address.

Rei Ishii, an employee of the Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd. In Tokyo, in May, $ 154 million is said to have "misappropriated" and transferred the money to a account that he has controlled by a bank in La Jolla, California. Then he quickly converted the funds "into more than $ 180 million in more than 3,879 bitcoins.

At the current Bitcoin price, this stack of btc is almost $ 188 million worth.

The Ministry of Justice said: "These funds were confiscated by the law enforcement authorities on December 1, 2021, based on the investigation of the FBI", and stated:

The law enforcement agencies were able to track Bitcoin transfers and find that approximately 3,879.16 bitcoins, which represent the proceeds from the funds stolen from a subsidiary of Sony Life, were transferred to a certain Bitcoin address and then to an offline cryptocurrency Cold wallet.

"All Bitcoins that can be attributed to theft were recovered and fully kept. Ishii was charged with criminal law in Japan," said the doj. "The technical expertise of the FBI was able to trace the money back to the subject's crypto wallet and to seize them."

The incumbent US prosecutor Randy Grossman said: "It is our intention to return the stolen money to the victim of this bold theft."

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Kevin Helms

Kevin, a student of Austrian economics, found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the interface between economy and cryptography.

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