China’s cybersecurity authority has accused the US government of being behind the theft of Bitcoin worth about $13 billion. The hack targeted the LuBian Bitcoin mining pool in December 2020, when 127,272 Bitcoin tokens were stolen, which is one of the biggest crypto theft ever recorded, according to Bloomberg. China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center said the operation appeared to be carried out by state-backed hackers from the US, noting that the slow and cautious movement of the stolen Bitcoin suggested a government-level plan rather than a criminal act.
Bitcoin heist linked to global crypto scam?
A report released last week claims that the stolen Bitcoin from LuBian, which was once one of the world’s biggest mining operations, is linked to tokens that were later seized by the US government, the Bloomberg report said. The US said those tokens were tied to Chen Zhi, the head of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who was charged in October with wire fraud and money laundering. However, Bloomberg reported that US declined to comment when or how the Bitcoin was confiscated.
The report alleged that American hackers may already have stolen about 127,000 Bitcoins from Chen Zhi as early as 2020, saying, “This is a classic ‘black eats black’ operation orchestrated by a state-level hacking organization.”
Prosecutors working on Chen’s case refused to explain how they gained control of the coins, even after the Justice Department filed a civil case to seize them.
Chen’s lawyer seeks more time to track stolen Bitcoin
Chen’s lawyer has asked a US court for more time to trace the Bitcoin stolen from the LuBian mining pool. Attorney Matthew L. Schwartz said the government’s accusations against Chen are based on incorrect assumptions. Prosecutors confirmed that Chen is not in US custody after the charges against him were made public last month, reported Bloomberg.
Schwartz, who is chairman Boies Schiller Flexner and represents Chen and the Prince Group, said his team is working with cryptocurrency experts to track the Bitcoin seized by the US government more than a year ago, which was originally stolen in 2020.