Ilya ‘Dutch’ Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the 2016 Bitfinex hack that led to the theft of round 120,000 Bitcoins, has been sentenced to 5 years in jail. Alongside the theft, he was convicted of cash laundering conspiracy and can serve three years of supervised launch following his jail time period.
One of many Largest Crypto Trade Hacks
The sentencing adopted responsible pleas by Lichtenstein and his spouse and co-conspirator, Heather Morgan, to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering. Morgan’s sentencing is scheduled for November 18.
Morgan, who glided by the pseudonym “Razzlekhan” even made surreal rap music movies and posted them on web. Nevertheless, she stays inactive after her arrest.
US authorities recovered the stolen Bitcoins, which had been price $3.6 billion on the time of their restoration in a 2022 raid on the couple. At the moment, these Bitcoins are price greater than $10.5 billion.
Bitcoin not too long ago hit a file worth above $93,000 amid the continued bullish rally. Curiosity in cryptocurrency surged following the US presidential election, which led to Donald Trump’s victory. Trump is perceived as crypto-friendly and is anticipated to be lenient with cryptocurrency business laws.
🚨 Ilya Lichtenstein, derrière le hack de 120 000 BTC de Bitfinex, est condamné à 5 ans de jail. pic.twitter.com/cElbwN7k6a
— Coin Academy (@coinacademy_fr) November 14, 2024
Laundering Crypto Is Troublesome
In line with court docket paperwork, Lichtenstein accessed the Bitfinex community in 2016 and fraudulently authorised over 2,000 transactions, transferring 119,754 Bitcoins from the crypto trade’s wallets to these he managed. He even deleted the trade’s entry credentials and different log recordsdata to cowl his tracks.
After the hack, he and his spouse laundered the stolen funds. They used superior strategies, together with fictitious identities to arrange on-line accounts and pc applications to automate transactions. They deposited the stolen funds in a number of darknet markets and crypto exchanges, then withdrew them to obscure the origin of the cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, the duo transformed Bitcoins into different cryptocurrencies, a course of often called “chain hopping,” and used crypto-mixing companies for additional anonymity. In addition they bought gold cash with the stolen funds.
This text was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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