FBI says US has seized $1.2 bil. worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance
WASHINGTON — The FBI said Thursday that it had seized more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency reported stolen last month from Binance , the world's largest crypto exchange. The theft of about $6.3 billion from Binance is regarded as the biggest crypto heist in history, and the FBI has previously attributed it to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor. The U.S. government and private…
On Thursday, the FBI announced the seizure of over $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency that was stolen from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The theft, amounting to approximately $6.3 billion, is considered the largest in crypto history. North Korean hackers, identified as the TraderTraitor group, are believed to be responsible for the theft.
Various U.S. government agencies and the private sector have collectively frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds. The Justice Department has now obtained court authorization to seize or restrain over $1.2 billion of this total. Generally, the U.S. government files a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who determines who has a legitimate claim to the recovered funds.
Additionally, on Thursday, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme, known as FaceStealer, which resulted in the theft of $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the past 18 months. This scheme involves a complex chain of events, including the hijacking of popular messaging apps.
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