- The US Department of Justice has accused Russian citizens Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner of the Mt. Gox hack incident that occurred in 2014.
- Bilyuchenko and Verner gained unauthorized access to Mt. Gox’s wallets in September 2011 and stole a total of 647,000 BTC over almost three years, laundering the funds.
- Bilyuchenko is also alleged to have been one of the operators of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.
The US Department of Justice has accused two Russian citizens of the Mt. Gox hack incident that occurred in 2014.
New Update in the Mt. Gox Bitcoin Hack Incident
The US Department of Justice has accused Russian citizens Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner of the Mt. Gox hack incident that occurred in 2014. This incident is recorded as one of the biggest thefts in cryptocurrency history.
In a press release, the Department of Justice announced that an indictment prepared in 2019 had been revealed. According to this, Bilyuchenko and Verner gained unauthorized access to Mt. Gox’s wallets in September 2011 and stole a total of 647,000 BTC over almost three years, laundering the funds.
Bilyuchenko is also alleged to have been one of the operators of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. Alexander Vinnick, who was previously accused of operating BTC-e, is also associated with this incident.
Both defendants face charges of conspiracy to launder money. Bilyuchenko is also charged with operating an unlicensed money services business. Lawsuits related to the Mt. Gox hack incident are ongoing in the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of California offices of the US Department of Justice.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said in a statement that this case highlights their determination to bring malicious actors in the cryptocurrency field to justice and prevent the exploitation of the financial system.
The Department also alleges that Bilyuchenko, Verner, and other unnamed associates used a New York-based Bitcoin brokerage service to launder funds and moved more than $6.6 million to “overseas bank accounts.”
What is the Mt. Gox Hack Incident?
The Mt. Gox hack incident is an attack that occurred in 2014 on Mt. Gox, one of the leading Bitcoin exchanges in the cryptocurrency world. Mt. Gox was a Japanese exchange and was known as the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange at the time.
In February 2014, a major security vulnerability was detected in Mt. Gox’s systems, and the exchange announced that approximately 850,000 Bitcoins had been stolen in total. This amount equated to millions of dollars in losses at the time.
The attack resulted in Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy and the exchange was unable to repay users for their lost Bitcoins. This resulted in many investors losing large amounts of money and caused a loss of trust in the Bitcoin community.
The Mt. Gox hack incident drew attention to the security and regulation of cryptocurrencies and emphasized the need for increased security measures for cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, after this incident, regulations on cryptocurrencies were strengthened in Japan and other countries, and various steps were taken to regulate exchanges.
