FBI says US has seized $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Binance - The Killeen Daily Herald
The FBI has seized more than $1.2 billion of cryptocurrency stolen last month from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, in what is regarded as the biggest crypto heist in history.
The FBI announced Thursday it had obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of the stolen funds. The U.S. government and private sector have combined to freeze more than $2.7 billion of the total $6.3 billion stolen from Binance last month.
The theft marks the largest crypto heist in history, with the FBI previously attributing it to a North Korean hacking group called TraderTraitor. Typically, the U.S. government will file a claim of forfeiture with a judge, who will then determine who has a legitimate claim to the recovered funds.
North Korean cyber schemes
U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to generate funds for its regime, including its illicit weapons program.
Also on Thursday, the FBI blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme known as FaceStealer, which officials say resulted in the theft of $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. This scheme involves hijacking popular messaging apps and using deepfake videos.
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