FBI says US has seized $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance - seMissourian
The FBI has announced the seizure of more than $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, in what is considered the biggest crypto heist in history.
The theft of approximately $6.3 billion from Binance marks the largest cryptocurrency heist ever recorded. U.S. authorities have now frozen over $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, with the FBI securing court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of that total.
North Korean Connection
The FBI has previously attributed the Binance theft to a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor. In a separate announcement Thursday, the agency also blamed North Korea for a social engineering scheme called FaceStealer, which has resulted in $400 million worth of cryptocurrency thefts over the past 18 months.
U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to generate funds for its regime, including its illicit weapons program.
Recovery Process
Typically in such cases, the U.S. government will file a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who will then determine which parties have legitimate claims to the recovered funds. The FaceStealer scheme involves a complex chain of events including the hijacking of popular messaging apps and the creation of deepfake videos.
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