According to Bloomberg News, the United States has seized approximately $3.6 billion in Bitcoin that was stolen in 2016 during a Bitfinex currency exchange hack, which is recorded as the biggest financial seizure ever. The Justice Department said that it arrested two people.
Ilya Lichtenstein along with his wife Heather Morgan had to appear in the afternoon following their detention in the morning at the Federal court, Manhattan. The couple had a very vibrant and colorful social media presence before their arrests. They conspired to misappropriate 119,754 Bitcoin that was stolen after a hacker successfully broke into Bitfinex’s system.
Bitfinex is the crypto exchange that is affiliated with Tether, which is the largest stable coin in the world. As per the Justice Department, during the hack, the digital currency haul was found to be at $71 million. The total value of the Bitcoin that was stolen at that time now holds a value worth $4.5 billion.
Bloomberg News reports that the cryptocurrency is known as Unus Sed Leo. The currency was issued as a part of the recapitalization of the Bitfinex exchange after the 2016 hack, and the value has now surged by more than 50% after the announcement of the DOJ.
The couple was dressed in casual clothes and they did not speak a word and all the talking was done by the lawyers. The government has said that they cannot be released since both might be subjected to 20 years of imprisonment. As such, they might tend to run away. The trial will take place in Washington.
However, they were not accused of carrying out the hacking but a detailed 20-page statement stating how they had carried out the misappropriation of Bitcoin following the hack, however, there is still no clue about the culprit who stole the digital currency. Justice Department refused to comment when they were asked about the person who carried out the hack.
Bloomberg News reports that as per DOJ, sophisticated techniques were used which also included making use of identities that were fake so that they could set up online accounts. They also made use of computer programs for the automation of transactions, which allows many transactions to be carried out within a short period. They also parked the stolen funds in several exchanges and darknet markets, withdrew funds, and kept stolen funds in virtual currency exchanges.
The case details date back to August 2016, when Bitfinex informed about a security breach and stopped all trading activities, deposits, and withdrawals. The company also informed later that many of the company’s clients had lost their Bitcoin, and the same was informed by the company to the law enforcement body as a case of theft.
While briefing reporters, the officials of the Justice Department stated that they are planning to set up a court process for the victims so that the stolen Bitcoin can be reclaimed.
