Feds charge $3.6 billion in bitcoin robbed from Bitfinex hack
Key takeaways:
- The Justice Department declared Tuesday morning it captured almost $3.6 billion in allegedly robbed bitcoin related to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex.
- Officials stated they charged Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31.
- The pair is prepared to make their initial appearances in national court later in the day.
Feds took the stolen Bitcoins:
The Justice Department declared Tuesday morning it took almost $3.6 billion in allegedly robbed cryptocurrency related to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex. As a portion of the operation, officers imprisoned a New York pair on allegations they intended to launder the digital goods.
In a statement, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said it keeps its largest economic seizure ever.
Officials stated they captured Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31. The pair is prepared to make their initial appearances in national court later in the day. Lichtenstein’s and Morgan’s lawful representation wasn’t instantly apparent.
Authorities charged a couple of attempts to launder the profits of 119,754 bitcoin robbed from Bitfinex’s platform after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s plans and made almost 2,000 unauthorized transactions. Prosecutors allege that the trades sent the robbed bitcoin to Lichtenstein’s digital wallet.
Officials stated they could take almost 94,000 bitcoin, worth about $3.6 billion at the takeover time. In all, the whole robbed bitcoin is currently valued at around $4.5 billion, according to the agency.
“Today, federal law enforcement shows once again that we can follow the money through the blockchain and that we will not let cryptocurrency be a haven for cash laundering or a zone of corruption within our financial system,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. stated in a statement.
The couple is accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and conspiracy to cheat the United States, with five years in lockup.