The United States seized $ 3.6 billion worth of Bitcoins stolen in 2016 during the hacker attack on Bitfinex. This is the largest seizure of crypto assets in the US Department of Justice. In addition to the kidnapping, the American authorities arrested a couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, who wanted to launder nearly 120,000 Bitcoins stolen during the hacker attack on the Bitfinex platform in 2016.
The stolen Bitcoins were transferred to Lichtenstein’s e-wallet. For the Department of Justice this is a record seizure. “Cryptocurrencies are not a refuge for criminals,” say the American authorities, explaining that the attempt to launder Bitcoins did not work despite the couple having created a “maze of cryptocurrency transactions. Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement” have been exposed. Bitfinex had initially offered a reward of hundreds of millions of dollars to anyone who offered information to recover the Bitcoins. It is unclear whether the reward played a role in the kidnapping.
Source: Ansa
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