US secures authority over $1.2bn in Binance theft
The Justice Department secured court authority over more than $1.2 billion of Binance theft proceeds as US and private partners continue tracing and freezing funds.
By Web3 Hub Newsroom2 min read
On Nov. 12, the Justice Department said it had obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance on or about Oct. 29, according to the department’s announcement.
The theft exceeded $6 billion, the Justice Department said, citing the FBI’s attribution to North Korean military hackers known as TraderTraitor. The government and private-sector partners have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen assets so far; the $1.2 billion covered by court authorization is part of that total.
The Associated Press reported that the FBI said more than $1.2 billion had been seized. The Justice Department’s account describes court-authorized seizure or restraint, rather than saying the assets have been finally forfeited. AP reported that the government typically files a forfeiture claim with a judge, who then determines who has a legitimate claim to recovered funds.
US agencies worked with virtual asset service providers to freeze the funds, the Justice Department said. Investigators are still tracing, freezing and seeking to seize and forfeit assets as TraderTraitor actors move them through cryptocurrency bridges, mixers and exchanges. Last week, the FBI urged service providers to block transactions involving wallet addresses it linked to laundering the Binance proceeds.
The Justice Department did not give a deadline for the remaining recovery work. It said efforts to trace and recover the assets are ongoing, leaving the next steps dependent on continued tracking and court proceedings over the funds.
References
- department’s announcement — justice.gov
- Associated Press reported — apnews.com