Smart Crypto Criminals Left Their Keys Under The Mat
The US Dept of "Justice" has formed a Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit as part of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). Why bother announcing this as the NCET already exists?
The Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit will be made up of a team of crypto experts providing services to the FBI.
and
With the creation of the new unit, the NCET will also begin to act outside U.S. borders. The Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit plans to strengthen earlier efforts from the DOJ and support law enforcement at domestic and international levels of government.
FBI has international powers now? No mention of the other organisations involved.
Possibly emboldened by this: DoJ Seizes $3.6B in Bitcoin From 2016 Bitfinex Hack
Discussing the seizure in a press release, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said that the incident was proof that “cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals.” She criticized Lichtenstein and Morgan for their “futile effort to maintain digital anonymity” and added that the Department of Justice “can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes.”
Not good news for Bitcoin maximanalists.
This bit is fun:
After the execution of court-authorized search warrants of online accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan, special agents obtained access to files within an online account controlled by Lichtenstein. Those files contained the private keys required to access the digital wallet that directly received the funds stolen from Bitfinex, and allowed special agents to lawfully seize and recover more than 94,000 bitcoin that had been stolen from Bitfinex.
"The criminal complaint alleges that Lichtenstein and Morgan employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques." Like... leaving their keys online!?
Don't ever do that!
