After hacker attack
US authorities confiscate 94,000 bitcoins
02/08/2022, 8:40 p.m
In 2016, more than 119,750 bitcoins were stolen in a hacker attack. US authorities secure about 94,000 of them again – and arrest the alleged perpetrators. This is intended to set an example: cryptocurrencies are “not a safe haven for criminals”.
US authorities have seized a record $3.6 billion in stolen bitcoins that were stolen in a hacker attack in 2016. The Justice Department announced the arrest of a couple in New York on charges of money laundering with cryptocurrency. The two arrested tried to wash the stolen bitcoins through a “maze of cryptocurrency transactions”.
During the hacker attack on the Bitfinex platform in 2016, more than 119,750 bitcoins with a current value of around 4.5 billion US dollars were stolen. So far, investigators have secured more than 94,000 of the Bitcoins with a total value of 3.6 billion US dollars.
“Today’s arrests and the largest financial seizure in history by the ministry show that cryptocurrencies are not a safe haven for criminals,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. The authorities are able to trace the flow of money – “no matter in what form”.
The arrested couple – a 34-year-old and his 31-year-old wife – are due to appear in federal court later this Tuesday. If convicted of conspiracy to launder money, the two face up to 20 years in prison. Another five years in prison could be added to allegations of fraud.
According to the Justice Department, a hacker broke into Bitfinex in 2016 and then made 2,000 unauthorized transactions. The stolen bitcoins were transferred to a digital wallet controlled by the man who has now been arrested. The couple then began using a variety of money laundering techniques to disguise the origin of the bitcoins. The Justice Department did not provide information on the identity of the hacker on Tuesday.