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The U.S. Department of Justice just seized $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC” in what is dubbed to be the largest financial seizure ever. The seized digital currencies are part of the stolen crypto in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The DOJ announced in a press release that it arrested two individuals in New York for alleged conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency stolen during the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. Authorities also seized more than $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency, which is part of the stolen digital assets during the hack.
Authorities arrested Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, both of New York, New York, for attempting to launder the stolen Bitcoin. “According to court documents, Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly conspired to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were stolen from Bitfinex’s platform after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s systems and initiated more than 2,000 unauthorized transactions,” DOJ said.
At the time of the 2016 hack, the stolen crypto was worth around $60 million and represented almost one-sixth of the total trading volume, according to Coindesk. With BTC currently trading at $44,742, the stolen crypto would have been valued at $5.36 billion.
However, the DOJ only recovered around 94,000 BTC during its raid. The couple was able to transfer around 25,000 in the last five years.
“Those unauthorized transactions sent the stolen bitcoin to a digital wallet under Lichtenstein’s control,” the DOJ stated. “Over the last five years, approximately 25,000 of those stolen bitcoin were transferred out of Lichtenstein’s wallet via a complicated money laundering process that ended with some of the stolen funds being deposited into financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan.”
Agents were able to gain access to the files within the online account maintained by Lichtenstein after obtaining search warrants. “Those files contained the private keys required to access the digital wallet that directly received the funds stolen from Bitfinex, and allowed special agents to lawfully seize and recover more than 94,000 bitcoin that had been stolen from Bitfinex,” the press release added. “The recovered bitcoin was valued at over $3.6 billion at the time of seizure.”
“Today’s arrests, and the department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said. “In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions. Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes.”
