Department of Justice says that Bitcoin worth billions of dollar should be returned after a 2016 cyber-attack on Bitfinex.
The U.S. Government said in a document filed on Tuesday that all the coins recovered from the theft must be returned to the exchange, as they are not eligible for reimbursement. "victims" The case.
Hackers took nearly 120,000 Bitcoin—today worth nearly $12 billion—and other digital tokens from the exchange in the hack. Over $9 billion worth of that has been recovered, and in the Feds' view, should be returned to Bitfinex.
Ilya Lightenstein received a 60-month sentence for money laundering last year after being found guilty of swiping coin. Heather is Heather Lichtenstein, his wife and rapper. "Razzlekhan" Morgan, who was sentenced for 18 months, had been convicted in a separate trial of helping launder money.
Bitfinex "generalized" The exchange shared the loss with all its customers and launched a program to reimburse them, including tokens redeemable for U.S. Dollars or shares of the company. The exchange has said that it believes that customers have been made whole in the process, though some customers have pushed back on that claim—particularly given the surging value of Bitcoin the years since.
In the U.S. government's eyes, however, there are no specific victims.
"For the foregoing reasons, there is no 'victim' for the specific offenses of conviction in this proceeding," The filing is titled.
The fact that some of the cryptocoins could not be recovered due to "the complexity of the laundering transactions," This is what you should know "third-party ancillary forfeiture proceeding" It was decided to dispose of those assets.
Bitfinex is returning 94 643 Bitcoins. That's $9.3 billion in "digital gold" at today's prices.
Hackers got hold of the Bitfinex crypto due to a fault with the exchange's security surrounding multi-signature wallets. The Department of Justice reported last year that Lichtenstein and Morgan used sophisticated laundering techniques, including crypto mixing services, to hide their activities.
Morgan, who is set to report to prison this month, hasn't let jail time hold her back from her rap career: Earlier this month, the musician released a music video titled "Razzlekhan vs. The United States"—and even told Decrypt This song is dedicated "misfits" Like her.
Andrew Hayward edited the book
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to correct the headline. Over $9 billion worth of the Bitcoin has been recovered and should be returned to Bitfinex, in the DOJ's view.