As part of a plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan are expected to show up for an arraignment and hearing on August 3rd.
In a shocking turn of events, the husband and wife accused of laundering Bitcoin worth billions of dollars in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex breach have reached a plea deal with American authorities. In accordance with this arrangement, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan will show up for their arraignment and hearing on August 3 and will be accused of conspiring to launder money and defraud the United States. They also anticipate forfeiting case-related digital assets, which is a substantial move.
The complex operation came into being after the infamous Bitfinex hack in August 2016, which saw the theft of roughly 119,754 Bitcoin, each of which was then worth a stunning $30,023. Lichtenstein and Morgan are alleged to have meticulously laundered more than 94,643 BTC from the stolen funds through a series of intricate transactions across various accounts and platforms.
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The BTC, which was valued about $54 million at the time of the hack but has now soared to an astounding $3.6 billion at the time of this publishing, was taken by American authorities after their arrest in New York in February 2022.
Related: US Government Recovers $314K in Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Hack
Since the laundered Bitcoin seizure represented the greatest financial haul by the U.S. Department of Justice, this high-profile case has been closely watched. Authorities have restored a tiny quantity of BTC associated with the attack to Bitfinex to help victims, but a large percentage of the stolen money is still missing.
The cryptocurrency community is anxiously anticipating more information on the plea agreement and its potential ramifications for the return of monies to the victims as this compelling judicial drama develops. Watch this space for more exciting news regarding justice and cryptocrime.