A court has ruled that over 94,000 Bitcoin seized from the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack should be returned to Bitfinex and through “in-kind restitution,” according to a new filing shared by DB News.
As expected
*GOVT SAYS SEIZED BITCOIN FROM 2016 BITFINEX HACK SHOULD BE RETURNED IN-KIND
Do they just ask Paolo for the addy? https://t.co/8iwx6J1XR6pic.twitter.com/ndNd1UrdWG
— db (@tier10k) January 15, 2025
The Bitcoins stash was worth $3.6 billion upon seizure by the Department of Justice in 2022 and is now valued at about $9.3 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
On July 6, 2023, Bitfinex received $312,219.71 in cash and 6.917 BCH from the US Department of Homeland Security as part of ongoing recovery efforts. These funds will be used to redeem Recovery Right Tokens issued to holders following the hack.
Concerns emerged on October 25, 2024, when about $20 million in crypto seized from the hack was moved from US government-controlled wallets. The defendants, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, were sentenced in November 2024 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges.
Law enforcement has recovered approximately $10 billion in stolen assets through various seizures since arresting the pair in February 2022. The remaining seized assets will be subject to separate forfeiture proceedings.
