• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Security
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Legal
  • Technology and Science
  • Opinion
  • Columns
  • Exposé
  • World
  • Lifestyle
US Justice Department Seizes $3.6bn In Bitcoin Stolen In Bitfinex Hack From New York Couple

US Justice Department Seizes $3.6bn In Bitcoin Stolen In Bitfinex Hack From New York Couple

6 months ago
Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

1 hour ago
JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

2 hours ago
2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

2 hours ago
NCDMB
ADVERTISEMENT
Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

2 hours ago
2022 U21 African Volleyball Championship: Despite Final Group Loss, Nigeria Land In Quarterfinal, Confront Libya

2022 U21 African Volleyball Championship: Despite Final Group Loss, Nigeria Land In Quarterfinal, Confront Libya

3 hours ago
For Killing Wife, Court Sentences Nigerian Wrestler To Death By Hanging 

For Killing Wife, Court Sentences Nigerian Wrestler To Death By Hanging 

5 hours ago
Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

5 hours ago
Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

8 hours ago
UAE To Ease Flight Restriction On Nigeria, Others June 23

Why Flights To Nigeria Will Be Suspended From Sept 1 — Emirates Airlines 

8 hours ago
Wadume And The Nigerian Tragedy

Wadume And The Nigerian Tragedy  

8 hours ago
Nigeria Conquer Canada, Set Up Quarterfinal Clash Against Netherlands In U20 Women World Cup

Nigeria Conquer Canada, Set Up Quarterfinal Clash Against Netherlands In U20 Women World Cup

10 hours ago
26 Dead As Forest Fires Spread In Algeria

26 Dead As Forest Fires Spread In Algeria

18 hours ago
Argentina: 20 Die After Taking Poisoned Cocaine

Liberia: Senate Debates Making Amendment to Drug Law

18 hours ago
Tanzania Installs Internet On Mount Kilimanjaro

Tanzania Installs Internet On Mount Kilimanjaro

19 hours ago
Nigeria: Electricity Workers Suspend Strike For Two Weeks

Nigeria: Electricity Workers Suspend Strike For Two Weeks

20 hours ago
Indian Smuggler Arrested At Thai Airport With Fox, Pythons

Indian Smuggler Arrested At Thai Airport With Fox, Pythons

20 hours ago
Russia To Receive Chinese Troops As Joint Military Exercises Commence Aug 30

Russia To Receive Chinese Troops As Joint Military Exercises Commence Aug 30

20 hours ago
100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

21 hours ago
At Last, Glazer ‘Agrees’ To Sell Minority Stake In Manchester United Amid Pressure

At Last, Glazer ‘Agrees’ To Sell Minority Stake In Manchester United Amid Pressure

22 hours ago
Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

24 hours ago
ADVERTISEMENT
Thursday, August 18, 2022
  • Photo Speaks
  • Videos
  • You-Report
  • Whistleblower
  • Advertise
  • HT Events
  • About HT
  • Contact
The Heritage Times
No Result
View All Result
Translate | EN FR
  • Login
  • Politics
    Kenyan Women Make History With Record Election Wins

    Kenyan Women Make History With Record Election Wins

    William Ruto Wins Kenyan Presidential Election

    William Ruto Wins Kenyan Presidential Election

    Kenya: Poll Officials Set To Declare Presidential Election Results

    Kenya: Poll Officials Set To Declare Presidential Election Results

    Nigerian Youths Must Break Wall Of Ethnicity To Take Back Their Country - Bishop Kukah

    Nigerian Youths Must Break Wall Of Ethnicity To Take Back Their Country – Bishop Kukah

    Nigeria: Wike Asks Court To Remove Atiku As PDP Presidential Candidate

    Nigeria: Wike Asks Court To Remove Atiku As PDP Presidential Candidate

    #KenyaDecides: Misinformation Widespread As Vote Count Enters Third Day

    #KenyaDecides: Misinformation Widespread As Vote Count Enters Third Day

    IATF 2021 Nigeria Aggressively Ready To Maximise Advantage Of Durban Trade Fair - President Buhari

    Nigeria: Presidency Gives Reasons For Reversing Authorization Of ExxonMobil Share Acquisition

    Africa Observer Missions Praise Kenya Election

    Africa Observer Missions Praise Kenya Election

    China Ends Military Drills Around Taiwan

    China Ends Military Drills Around Taiwan

  • Economy
    Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

    Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

    Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

    Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

    UAE To Ease Flight Restriction On Nigeria, Others June 23

    Why Flights To Nigeria Will Be Suspended From Sept 1 — Emirates Airlines 

    100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

    100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

    Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

    Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

    Egypt's Central Bank Governor Quits Amid Economic Crisis

    Egypt’s Central Bank Governor Quits Amid Economic Crisis

    Equatorial Guinea Arrests Oil Vessel Fleeing From Nigerian Waters

    Equatorial Guinea Arrests Oil Vessel Fleeing From Nigerian Waters

    UK Inflation Hits Double Digits For First Time In 40 Years

    UK Inflation Hits Double Digits For First Time In 40 Years

    Nigeria: Looming Blackout As Electricity Workers Threaten To Withdraw Services

    Nigeria: Looming Blackout As Electricity Workers Threaten To Withdraw Services

  • Security
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Metro
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Legal
  • Tech & Science
  • Opinion
  • Exposé
  • Exclusive Videos
  • Niger Delta
  • World
  • Politics
    Kenyan Women Make History With Record Election Wins

    Kenyan Women Make History With Record Election Wins

    William Ruto Wins Kenyan Presidential Election

    William Ruto Wins Kenyan Presidential Election

    Kenya: Poll Officials Set To Declare Presidential Election Results

    Kenya: Poll Officials Set To Declare Presidential Election Results

    Nigerian Youths Must Break Wall Of Ethnicity To Take Back Their Country - Bishop Kukah

    Nigerian Youths Must Break Wall Of Ethnicity To Take Back Their Country – Bishop Kukah

    Nigeria: Wike Asks Court To Remove Atiku As PDP Presidential Candidate

    Nigeria: Wike Asks Court To Remove Atiku As PDP Presidential Candidate

    #KenyaDecides: Misinformation Widespread As Vote Count Enters Third Day

    #KenyaDecides: Misinformation Widespread As Vote Count Enters Third Day

    IATF 2021 Nigeria Aggressively Ready To Maximise Advantage Of Durban Trade Fair - President Buhari

    Nigeria: Presidency Gives Reasons For Reversing Authorization Of ExxonMobil Share Acquisition

    Africa Observer Missions Praise Kenya Election

    Africa Observer Missions Praise Kenya Election

    China Ends Military Drills Around Taiwan

    China Ends Military Drills Around Taiwan

  • Economy
    Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

    Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

    Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

    Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

    UAE To Ease Flight Restriction On Nigeria, Others June 23

    Why Flights To Nigeria Will Be Suspended From Sept 1 — Emirates Airlines 

    100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

    100 Youths Empowered As NCDMB, ITF Complete Vocational Skills Training

    Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

    Nigeria: Electricity Workers Shut National Grid As Appeal To Suspend Strike Fails

    Egypt's Central Bank Governor Quits Amid Economic Crisis

    Egypt’s Central Bank Governor Quits Amid Economic Crisis

    Equatorial Guinea Arrests Oil Vessel Fleeing From Nigerian Waters

    Equatorial Guinea Arrests Oil Vessel Fleeing From Nigerian Waters

    UK Inflation Hits Double Digits For First Time In 40 Years

    UK Inflation Hits Double Digits For First Time In 40 Years

    Nigeria: Looming Blackout As Electricity Workers Threaten To Withdraw Services

    Nigeria: Looming Blackout As Electricity Workers Threaten To Withdraw Services

  • Security
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Health
  • Metro
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Legal
  • Tech & Science
  • Opinion
  • Exposé
  • Exclusive Videos
  • Niger Delta
  • World
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Top Stories

US Justice Department Seizes $3.6bn In Bitcoin Stolen In Bitfinex Hack From New York Couple

February 8, 2022
in Top Stories, World
0
US Justice Department Seizes $3.6bn In Bitcoin Stolen In Bitfinex Hack From New York Couple
27
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp
ADVERTISEMENT

By Emmanuel Nduka

The United States Department of Justice has seized about $3.6bn in Bitcoin stolen during a 2016 hack of the Bitfinex currency exchange, the largest financial seizure ever.

Relatedreading

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

A New York couple, Ilya Lichtenstein, 34 and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, were arrested, the Justice Department said.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The duo were detained on Tuesday morning and were scheduled to appear at Federal Court in Manhattan later in the day.

They both appear to have had colorful social media accounts ahead of their arrests and allegedly conspired to launder 119,754 Bitcoin stolen after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s systems.

“Today’s arrests, and the Department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals.

“In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

Bitfinex is the exchange affiliated with the world’s biggest stablecoin, Tether.

As at the time of the hack, the digital currency haul was estimated at about $71 million, the Justice Department said, adding that the total value of stolen Bitcoin is now worth about $4.5 billion.

Ari Redbord, a former Federal Prosecutor who is now the Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, said “this case and the arrests today are extraordinary,” adding that “this is further proof that the nature of the blockchain, the forever open ledger, allows investigators to follow the money in ways impossible in complex webs of shell companies and bulk cash smuggling.”

According to DOJ, the couple used sophisticated techniques, including “using fictitious identities to set up online accounts; utilizing computer programs to automate transactions, a laundering technique that allows for many transactions to take place in a short period of time; depositing the stolen funds into accounts at a variety of virtual currency exchanges and darknet markets and then withdrawing the funds.”

Lichtenstein and Morgan also funnelled the money through AlphaBay Marketplace, which was shut down in 2017, to hide their transactions. Some of the money was cashed out through Bitcoin ATMs. Some was used to buy NFTs and gold. They even used the money to buy a Walmart gift card.

While Lichtenstein who was nicknamed “Dutch,” described himself as an angel investor in technology companies, as well as an adviser to multiple startups, according to a public LinkedIn profile, Morgan, who prosecutors say used the alias “razzlekhan,” promoted herself as a part-time rapper, entrepreneur and media personality on what appears to be her personal website. In one post, the defendant described herself as “the infamous crocodile of Wall Street” and “like Genghis Khan, but with more pizzazz.”

Another separate Instagram account that appears to be associated with the defendant included videos of Morgan, as Razzlekhan, rapping and appearing at a wedding ceremony in which she was carried on a throne by roughly eight people.

Bitfinex reported a security breach and halted all trading, withdrawals and deposits in August 2016. The company later disclosed in a blog post that some of its users had their Bitcoin stolen, and that it had reported the theft to law enforcement.

Bitfinex said in a statement that it has been cooperating “extensively” with the Justice Department throughout the investigation and that it will seek “to establish our rights to a return of the stolen Bitcoin.”

Both Lichtenstein and Morgan may face up to 20 years in prison for the money laundering charges. In addition, they could receive an additional sentence of up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the US, the Justice Department statement.

 

Tags: Bitfinex currency exchangeBloombergbreakingHeritageheritage timesheritagetimesmediaJoe Bidenlatestnewsthe heritage timesthtthtafricatop storiesUS Department of Justice
ShareTweetSendShare
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Protests Over Classroom Hijab Ban Escalates In India

Next Post

Visitor Visa Application Will Take Longer Processing Time In Nigeria – UK

Related Posts

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

August 18, 2022
JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

August 18, 2022

2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

For Killing Wife, Court Sentences Nigerian Wrestler To Death By Hanging 

Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

Next Post
Reactions Trail Exclusion of Nigerian Graduates From New UK Visa Policy

Visitor Visa Application Will Take Longer Processing Time In Nigeria - UK

Discussion about this post

Heritage Bank

Updates

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Nigeria: How Agric Ministry Used N18.9bn To Clear Bushes In 2019

Nigeria: How Agric Ministry Used N18.9bn To Clear Bushes In 2019

August 17, 2022
UAE Slams Visa Ban On Nigeria After Eiye, Aiye Cult Groups Rival Each Other In Dubai

UAE Slams Visa Ban On Nigeria After Eiye, Aiye Cult Groups Rival Each Other In Dubai

July 29, 2022
‘Eat the Oil Money; We Take the Crude’   

‘Eat the Oil Money; We Take the Crude’   

August 11, 2022
French Giants, PSG, Move To Snap Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen From Napoli 

French Giants, PSG, Move To Snap Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen From Napoli 

August 14, 2022
Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

August 18, 2022
JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

August 18, 2022
2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

August 18, 2022
Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

August 18, 2022
NCDMB

Most Recent

Nigeria: We Need More Women To Do Investigative Reporting — Sonaiya

August 18, 2022

JUST IN: Nigeria Football Federation Election Gets September 30 Date, As Pinnick, Others Secure Tenure Elongation 

August 18, 2022

2021/22 Season: Nigeria’s Oshoala Missing In UEFA Player Of The Year Award Shortlist 

August 18, 2022

Saudi Female PhD Student Bags 34 Years Imprisonment Over Tweet

August 18, 2022

2022 U21 African Volleyball Championship: Despite Final Group Loss, Nigeria Land In Quarterfinal, Confront Libya

August 18, 2022

For Killing Wife, Court Sentences Nigerian Wrestler To Death By Hanging 

August 18, 2022

Teenage Mothers Return To School In NCDMB-funded Skills Training Programme

August 18, 2022

Bloomberg Declares Ghana’s Cedi Worst Performing Currency

August 18, 2022
HOUSE FORTY THREE RESTAURANT
MOSILO GROUP
ADVERTISEMENT

About

The Heritage Times was established to advance transparency and accountability in leadership and governance. Our vision is to become Africa's foremost provider of quality news and contents. We seek to lead a news media revolution that will foster a sustainable democratic Africa.

Featured

Have Mali And Burkina Faso Coups Reined In Jihadist Attacks?

What We know About The Conflict In DR Congo

#ReformIELTSPolicy: UK Envoy’s Statement Justifies Advocacy For Nigeria’s IELTS Exemption, Says Group

Connect

Connect with us on social media and receive timely updates on the go.

Get Updates

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    © 2022 The Heritage Times Media.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Welcome
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security
    • Exposé
    • Education
    • Sports
    • Health
    • Entertainment
    • Legal
    • Technology and Science
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • World
    • __________________
    • Photo Speaks
    • Videos
    • You-Report
    • Whistleblower
    • Advertise
    • HT Events
    • About HT
    • Contact us

    © 2022 The Heritage Times Media.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In