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DoJ recovered billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin stolen in a 2016 hack of Bitfinex

As AZCoin News reported, Bitcoin price retreated to near $41,000 on Tuesday before recovering in the afternoon, while LEO, the token of crypto exchange Bitfinex, surged. U.S. officials announced they had seized roughly $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin tied to the exchange’s 2016 hack.

In a Tuesday announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said it had ordered the arrest of Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan for allegedly conspiring to launder crypto connected to the Bitfinex hack. The 119,756 Bitcoin worth $72 million at the time hackers breached security at the exchange in August 2016 — is now valued at more than $5.1 billion.

DoJ seizes $3.6B in Bitcoin and arrests two in connection with 2016 Bitfinex hack

The couple Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan were arrested on charges of being answerable for the 2016 hack on Bitfinex. The couple is accused of attempting to launder more than 119,000 BTC of stolen funds from the exchange.

In particular, The Justice Department asserts that some funds were sent to the digital wallet controlled by Ilya Lichtenstein. In addition to stealing the worth of $4.5 billion, the couple is potentially responsible for initiating more than 2,000 unauthorized transactions that enabled them to obtain the unjustified funds of other users.

At the moment, federal officials have successfully seized 94,000 stolen BTC worth around $3.6 billion. The further investigation and participation of the Justice Department will determine the degree of the couple’s guilt and sanctions to be applied against them. Although the ultimate legal outcomes are still unknown, the scope of evidence appears to be considerable, indicating the high likelihood of conviction in the following months.

This case is also important for creating the precedent of future legal investigations of cybercrimes that involve Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The widely held beliefs about such crimes being impossible to investigate have proved to be wrong with positive implications for law enforcement in the US and other countries.

In a statement, Bitfinex said it would continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice and follow the necessary steps to get access to some of the proceeds from the Bitcoin. “Bitfinex intends to provide further updates on its efforts to obtain a return of the stolen Bitcoin as and when those updates are available,” the note read.

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