• The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged two Russian nationals, Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner, for conspiring to launder 647,000 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from their hack of Mt. Gox in 2011.
• The DOJ accused them of using their unauthorized access to Mt. Gox servers to transfer BTC to wallets controlled by them and their co-conspirators between 2011 and 2014.
• Additionally, the DOJ is charging Bilyuchenko and Alexander Vinnik for conspiring to operate BTC-E, a crypto exchange that was shut down in 2017 because it facilitated ways for criminals to transfer, launder, and store their criminal proceeds.
US DOJ Charges Two Russians with Laundering 600K Bitcoin
The US Department of Justice has charged two Russians—Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner—with conspiring to launder 647,000 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from their hack of Mt. Gox in 2011. According to a June 9 statement, the DOJ alleged that they used their unauthorized access to Mt. Gox servers to transfer BTC to wallets controlled by them and their co-conspirators between 2011 and 2014.
BTC-E Crypto Exchange Shut Down in 2017
Additionally, the DOJ is charging Bilyuchenko and Alexander Vinnik for conspiring to operate BTC-E—a crypto exchange shut down in 2017 because it facilitated ways for criminals to transfer, launder, and store their criminal proceeds. Kenneth A Polite Jr., assistant attorney general of DOJ’s criminal division said that the accused had used criminal proceeds from the Mt.Gox hack “to begin the notorious BTC-e virtual currency exchange” which laundered funds “for cybercriminals world wide” .
US Asking for Forfeiture over $88 Million
In addition to this charge , US is also asking for forfeiture over $88 million as part of the sentence . This amount constitutes of illegal profits made through laundering money via cryptocurrencies . It is representative of all assets involved with the scheme which includes digital currencies such as bitcoin . It has been argued that this action will have an impact on those who use cryptocurrencies as means of transferring funds illegally across borders .
Mt Gox Hack
Mt Gox was one of most significant hacks ever experienced by cryptocurrency industry . Hackers managed stole around 850 000 bitcoins equivalent around 450 million dollars worth at time when bitcoin price was way lower than today’s prices . After series investigations , police were able track down some hackers responsible for this act but details regarding how much they took out remains unclear .