FBI Confiscates 3,879 BTC Stolen From a Cold Wallet

The U.S. Department of Justice сообщил about the return of funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, converted into cryptocurrency, and later seized by the FBI during the investigation.

According to authorities, in May 2021 an employee at the company siphoned more than $154 million by moving the funds between accounts and forging instructions for the transactions.

He then converted them into about 3,879 BTC (more than $190 million as of writing), and later transferred them to a cold wallet.

During the investigation, law enforcement obtained the private key to the wallet. How exactly they did so was not disclosed. In early December, the FBI seized the assets.

The case also involved Japanese police, Sony itself, and Citibank.

In June, the FBI returned 63.7 BTC from the ransom paid to hackers by Colonial Pipeline, and in December seized more than 39 BTC from a Russian national linked to the REvil group. How the agency gained access to the wallets in either case was not disclosed.

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