US Department of Justice Arrests Couple Laundering Stolen Bitcoin... Seizes Record $4 Trillion Worth

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted two Americans on charges of conspiring to launder stolen Bitcoin worth trillions of won, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 8th (local time).

According to the reports, the Department of Justice announced that it arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan, who reside in Manhattan, New York. The couple was charged with attempting to launder 120,000 Bitcoins stolen in a 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.

The Department of Justice seized Bitcoins worth $3.6 billion (approximately 4.3 trillion won) from them. In terms of the number of Bitcoins, about 94,000 out of the 119,754 stolen were recovered. The amount stolen was $71 million at the time of the 2016 crime, which was the largest ever, but as the price of Bitcoin rose, its current value is said to be $4.5 billion, according to the Department of Justice.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, "Today's arrest and the largest financial seizure in the history of the Department of Justice demonstrate that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals."

The Department of Justice stated that the couple used sophisticated laundering methods, including receiving the stolen Bitcoins into digital wallets, creating online accounts with fake identities, and withdrawing funds using the darknet, an online black market. It was also reported that they withdrew millions of dollars through Bitcoin ATMs and used the funds to purchase gold, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Walmart gift cards.

However, the couple was not charged with hacking Bitfinex. The Department of Justice said the couple could face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering charges and up to 5 years for defrauding the U.S. government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.