NYC Couple Arrested For Laundering Over $5B Bitcoin In The Largest Bust Ever

The U.S. Department of Justice has seized $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin and arrested a couple in Manhattan who has been accused of laundering cryptocurrency worth over $5 billion that was stolen during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a virtual currency exchange.

Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, of New York City, were arrested Tuesday morning, the DoJ said in a statement released Tuesday, revealing details of what’s considered the department's largest financial cryptocurrency bust to date.

Citing court documents, the department noted that Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly conspired to launder the proceeds of 119,754 Bitcoins (over $5 billion) that were stolen from Bitfinex’s platform after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s systems and initiated over 2,000 unauthorized transactions.

The department noted that about 25,000 of Bitcoins were then transferred out of that wallet through a "complicated laundering process and into accounts controlled by both Lichtenstein and Morgan." The remaining Bitcoins in Lichtenstein's wallet were used to store the illegal funds, according to the criminal complaint.

The couple reportedly used their Bitcoins to purchase gold and gift cards for personal expenses.

“Today’s arrests, and the department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco.

Bitfinex, the cryptocurrency trading platform, said Tuesday that the company will cooperate with the Justice department and follow appropriate legal processes to establish their rights to a return of the stolen Bitcoin.

"Bitfinex intends to provide further updates on its efforts to obtain a return of the stolen bitcoin as and when those updates are available," Bitfinex said in a Tuesday statement.

Bitcoin was trading at $43, 742 as of 2.13 a.m. ET Wednesday, as per CoinMarketCap data.