U.S. accuses couple of laundering $4.5 billion in bitcoin tied to 2016 hack
Published by
Reuters UK
Reuters UK
By Sarah N. Lynch, Raphael Satter and Luc Cohen WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it has unraveled its biggest-ever cryptocurrency theft, seizing a record-shattering $3.6 billion in bitcoin tied to the 2016 hack of digital currency exchange Bitfinex and arresting a husband-and-wife team on money laundering charges. Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, New Yorkers who were arrested in Manhattan Tuesday morning, spent the illegal proceeds on items ranging from gold and non-fungible tokens to a $500 Walmart gift card, prosecutor…