Authorities claimed they purchased the bitcoin while gaining access to the private keys of a digital wallet that contained the cryptocurrency.
The US Justice Department seized $3.6 billion in bitcoin, which it claims is related to Bitfinex' 2016 hack. Two individuals were arrested in Manhattan, one of whom was in their 30s, and charged with conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency stolen during the hack.
"The arrests made today, and the department's largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals," he said.
After a hacker breached Bitfinex's systems and initiated more than 2,000 unauthorized transactions, the suspects "pleaded guilty to stealing the proceeds." The DOJ reports that the suspects "contended to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoins stolen from Bitfinex's platform.
Authorities were given a warrant to examine online accounts controlled by the suspects and obtained private keys to a digital wallet that "directly received the funds stolen from Bitfinex," the DOJ said.
In the release, federal law enforcement demonstrates once more that we can follow money through the blockchain, and that we will not allow cryptocurrency to be a safe haven for money laundering or a zone of lawlessness within our financial system.
According to a chainalysis report in January 2022, about $14 billion was transferred to illicit addresses. However, crime accounted for less than 1% of cryptocurrency transactions last year.
