Key Highlights:
- Government prosecutors aim to return most of the Bitcoins stolen from Bitfinex.
- Convicted hacker Ilya Lichtenstein received a 5-year prison sentence, while his wife, Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan, was sentenced to 18 months for her role in laundering the funds.
Background
U.S. federal prosecutors have filed a request for a court to approve the return of approximately 80% of the 119,754 Bitcoins taken during a 2016 hacking incident at Bitfinex. In a recent court filing, they stated that the 94,643 Bitcoins recovered from the hacker's wallet can be compensated to Bitfinex as restitution once permission is granted.
The additional Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, and Bitcoin Gold produced from hard forks after the hacking incident will also be returned.
In November 2023, Lichtenstein was sentenced after admitting guilt to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Morgan's sentencing for her laundering activities followed shortly after. Both agreed to surrender the stolen cryptocurrency in their plea deals.
Returning the remaining 25,000 Bitcoins involves more complex legalities. According to prosecution details, since Lichtenstein and Morgan utilized intricate and high-tech methods to launder these coins, including various transactions through a network of cryptocurrency exchanges and other means, these Bitcoins cannot simply be classified as “specifically lost property” from the hack. Thus, they will undergo a more complex forfeiture procedure.
