US Department of Justice Investigating Massive FTX Hack: Report – Decrypt

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The USA Division of Justice is investigating the tons of of tens of millions of {dollars}’ value of cryptocurrency taken in unauthorized transactions from collapsed change FTX, in keeping with a report on Tuesday.
FTX was hit with a thriller assault on November 11, shortly after it filed for Chapter 11 chapter, including a shock twist to the saga across the change and its outspoken founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The funds had been then moved round to different exchanges and transformed into totally different cryptocurrencies.
Now, federal prosecutors are monitoring the property—and have managed to freeze some, Bloomberg first reported Tuesday, citing an individual accustomed to the case. Nonetheless, the quantity of funds frozen are described as a "fraction" of the general quantity.
Blockchain analysts declare that about $650 million value of cryptocurrency left the Bahamas-based digital asset change within the hack, making it one of many largest crypto assaults of 2022. Nonetheless, FTX's chapter submitting notes that "a minimum of $372 million" was stolen, suggesting some discrepancy within the accounting of the lacking funds.
Blockchain evaluation agency Chainalysis confirmed to Decrypt final week that though Bahamian authorities did entry FTX funds after its submitting, as some information reviews beforehand claimed, hackers certainly pilfered $650 million value of funds on the time of the November assault.
On the collapsed change’s first court docket listening to, James Bromley—counsel to FTX’s new administration—stated {that a} “substantial quantity” of the change’s property are lacking or have been stolen.
Feds hit FTX co-founder and former CEO Bankman-Fried with eight legal costs earlier this month, together with cash laundering and wire fraud. The DOJ investigation doesn’t relate to these costs, and Bankman-Fried beforehand hinted earlier than his arrest that the unauthorized transactions might have been an inside job carried out by a disgruntled worker.
FTX rapidly collapsed final month after it turned clear that the corporate didn’t have ample funds to again prospects’ property. This was as a result of Alameda Analysis, a sister firm additionally based by Bankman-Fried, had the flexibility to make use of FTX buyer property for its personal means and with out oversight, in keeping with newly appointed FTX CEO John J. Ray III.
Bankman-Fried was final week launched to his dad and mom’ house on a $250 million pre-trial bond after being extradited to the U.S. from the Bahamas.

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