US gets court authority over $1.2bn in stolen Binance crypto
The Justice Department says a court has authorized seizure or restraint of more than $1.2 billion in crypto stolen from Binance, part of $2.7 billion frozen so far.
Crypto Daybook Newsroom2 min read
The US Justice Department says a court has authorized the seizure or restraint of more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance. The action is part of a wider effort to stop the stolen funds from moving beyond law enforcement’s reach, according to the Justice Department announcement.
More than $2.7 billion frozen so far
US agencies and private sector partners have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen assets, the department said. The court-authorized amount is more than $1.2 billion of that total. The distinction matters: the wider figure covers funds frozen through joint efforts, while the court authorization applies to assets the department can seek to seize or restrain.
Binance reported the theft in October. The department says members of North Korea’s military, tracked by the FBI as TraderTraitor, stole more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the exchange on or around Oct. 29. The Associated Press put the theft at about $6.3 billion and reported that the FBI had attributed it to the North Korean hacking group.
Tracing and recovery efforts continue
The government says the work to trace, freeze, seize and forfeit the assets is ongoing. It says TraderTraitor actors continue to launder the funds through cryptocurrency bridges, mixers and exchanges. Bridges move crypto between different blockchain networks; mixers are services that obscure the trail between transactions.
The FBI has urged virtual asset service providers, such as crypto platforms, to block transactions involving addresses linked to the stolen Binance funds. That could help authorities and private partners stop more assets from moving, but the department has not said that all the frozen funds have been recovered or returned.
The Associated Press report notes that seized assets can still face a legal process: the government typically files a forfeiture claim, and a judge determines who has a valid claim to the property. The Justice Department’s announcement did not say when that process would begin for these funds.
References
- Justice Department announcement — justice.gov
- Associated Press report — apnews.com