U.S. seizes $1.2 billion in crypto stolen from Binance
The Justice Department won court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion stolen from Binance in the October 29 hack it blames on North Korean military hackers, part of more than $2.7 billion frozen so far.
Court approval for $1.2 billion
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday it obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance. The theft, on or about October 29, took more than $6 billion from the exchange, which the FBI blames on members of the North Korean military it calls TraderTraitor.
Collective efforts by the U.S. government and private companies have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, and the $1.2 billion sits inside that frozen total. The department said it would use every tool at its disposal to seize and return the funds, and that tracing and recovery work continues as the hackers keep moving assets through exchanges, mixers and cross-chain services.
A second scheme: FaceStealer
In the same announcement, the department said it seized cloud infrastructure used in FaceStealer, a social engineering campaign the FBI says stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months. Hackers set up fake video meetings using stolen accounts and recordings of people known to the target, at times using AI-generated deepfakes.
The hackers then claim a technical problem needs a fix, install malware, take over the victim's communications and steal cryptocurrency, sometimes months or more than a year after the first compromise. People working in cryptocurrency and web3 are prime targets. The FBI said it seized more than 900 webcam videos of victims. FBI Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy called FaceStealer "a highly effective social engineering scheme capable of deceiving even the most experienced technical and security conscious computer user."
- Seized or restrained under court orderMore than $1.2 billion
- Stolen from Binance on Oct. 29More than $6 billion
- Frozen by U.S. and private effortsMore than $2.7 billion
- Stolen by FaceStealer in 18 monthsMore than $400 million
- Victim webcam videos seizedMore than 900
Why the case matters
The department framed the action as a strike at how North Korea funds itself. "North Korea's government bankrolls its rogue regime and illicit weapons program through cryptocurrency theft," said M. Scott Proctor, principal deputy assistant attorney general for national security.
Binance said it has covered the affected customer assets with company funds. The recovery is far from over: the department has not said how much of the frozen $2.7 billion will ultimately be returned, and TraderTraitor actors are still laundering the remaining funds.
