US Department of Justice(DOJ) has filed civil forfeiture to seize $16 million in cryptocurrency from a Binance account, following a year-long investigation. The cryptos involved are believed to be linked to bribes allegedly authorized by ex FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
As per the filing, the Binance account, created in November 2023, contained several tokens, including Internet Computer (ICP), Avalanche (AVAX), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL). Most of the value i.e., around $8.5 million was held in Solana. But, the value of these cryptocurrencies has since surged, reaching nearly $16 million, thanks to the recent surge in the cryptocurrency market.
This case traces back to November 2021, when Sam Bankman-Fried is said to have transferred 40 million USDT from an Alameda Research wallet as part of a bribe to Chinese officials. The goal was to ‘unfreeze’ $1 billion in crypto assets held on two Chinese exchanges. Investigators tracked the funds through various wallets, ultimately finding them in the Binance account between late 2021 and 2023.
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Suspicious activity was noted in the Binance account, including frequent stablecoin and Bitcoin deposits that were quickly converted into other cryptocurrencies via over-the-counter trades. These suspicious activities raised red flags for investigators, pushing the DOJ’s action to seize the funds. The bankrupt firm, FTX, has been back in the news for some time now, especially as it seeks to sue several firms to recover money to pay back its creditors. Note that, as per a report dated 11 November, FTX had filed a lawsuit against Binance and CZ , seeking to recover approximately $1.8 billion in assets. The lawsuit alleges these funds were fraudulently transferred by SBF through a 2021 share repurchase agreement.
As the value of the assets has more than doubled, law enforcement could face additional challenges in recovering the funds.
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