US arrests two for Bitfinex hack, seizes $3.6B value of BTC

Bitfinex misplaced 119,754 bitcoins within the August 2016 hack

The US Justice Division introduced on Tuesday that its legislation enforcement brokers had seized Bitcoin value over $3.6 billion, linked to the 2016 hack on Bitfinex.

Regulation enforcement brokers had additionally arrested two individuals in connection to the assault, the DOJ added in an announcement.

Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his spouse Heather Morgan, 31, had been arrested in New York on Tuesday morning and had been scheduled to seem in court docket later within the afternoon.

The couple allegedly stole 119,754 BTC in the course of the hack and laundered round 25,000 bitcoins from the loot between 2016 and 2022.

In accordance with the Justice Division, investigators following the cash path zeroed in on the couple on 31 January after meticulously combing by means of 1000’s of addresses suspect to be linked to the hack.

Early this month, the brokers seized over 94,000 bitcoin valued at round $3.6 billion on the time.

Lichtenstein and Morgan face prices of conspiracy to launder the seized BTC, whose worth 5 years in the past was about $71 million. With the regular surge in Bitcoin’s value, that worth has skyrocketed into billions.

The couple additionally faces prices of making an attempt to defraud the US authorities.

Bitfinex has stated it labored with DOJ brokers within the pursuit of the stolen cryptocurrency and hopes that the federal government will return the funds.

In a assertion printed Tuesday after the information of the arrest and seizure, Bitfinex stated it’s its “proper” to obtain the BTC. It plans to launch an 18-month timeline if it receives the crypto property, with a program to repurchase and burn UNUS SED LEO tokens.

In accordance with the change, 80% of all of the returned BTC could be used to finish the repurchase.