US wins court authority over $1.2B in Binance theft funds
The Justice Department says court-authorized seizure or restraint now covers more than $1.2 billion of the $2.7 billion frozen after the Binance theft.
The Top Crypto Editors 2 min read
What does the US have control over after the Binance theft? The Justice Department says it has court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency linked to the breach, according to its November 12 announcement. That legal authority covers part of a larger pool of funds frozen through cooperation between government agencies and private-sector firms.
The FBI says the theft happened on or about October 29 and involved more than $6 billion in virtual assets taken from Binance. The agency identifies the North Korean military actors it calls TraderTraitor as responsible. The $1.2 billion figure is therefore not the value of the whole theft: it is the amount for which the Justice Department has obtained authorization to seize or restrain.
The distinction matters if you are tracking recovery. US government and private-sector efforts have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, the Justice Department says. The $1.2 billion sits within that frozen total, rather than adding to it. Freezing can stop assets moving while legal action proceeds; authorization to seize or restrain gives authorities a further legal step, but does not by itself settle who ultimately has a valid claim to the crypto.
Tracing and recovery are continuing. The department says TraderTraitor actors are still laundering assets through cryptocurrency bridges, mixers and exchanges, and it is working with virtual asset service providers to interdict them. That makes the remaining funds vulnerable to movement across services and protocols even as investigators pursue them.
The Associated Press reports that the US government typically files a forfeiture claim with a judge, who then determines who has a legitimate claim to recovered funds. No hearing date or final forfeiture ruling was announced in the Justice Department release. For you, the next number to watch is whether the ongoing tracing and freezing effort pushes the more than $2.7 billion already frozen toward formal seizure and forfeiture.
References
- November 12 announcement — justice.gov