Ilya Lichtenstein, o homem por trás do saque de bilhões de dólares da Bitfinex, agora está ajudando promotores federais a construir um caso contra o Bitcoin Fog, um serviço de mistura de criptografia.

Lichtenstein se declarou culpado de acusações de lavagem de dinheiro no ano passado, depois de hackear a Bitfinex e escapar impune de Bitcoin no valor de US$ 3.6 milhões.

Lichtenstein testemunha em julgamento em Washington

Segundo to Bloomberg, Lichtenstein appeared in a Washington, D.C., trial this week where Roman Sterlingov was accused of operating a mixing service utilized by dark-web criminals. The Bitfinex hacker was named a cooperating U.S. government witness to charges relating to money laundering associated with the platform.

Lichtenstein told the jury that he used different mixers, including Bitcoin Fog, to obscure the stolen funds from the Bitfinex hack. He testified that he used the service about ten times to launder funds. However, he mentioned that the platform was not his main money laundering method since he later moved on to other services better suited for his purpose, such as Helix.

Autoridades americanas carregada Sterlingov, a dual Russian-Swedish citizen, with operating the money-mixing service. They accuse Sterlingov of receiving millions of dollars from darknet markets associated with trafficking illegal drugs.

Tor Ekeland, advogado de Sterlingov, argumenta que não existem evidências, como registros de servidores e relatos de testemunhas oculares que liguem Lichtenstein à plataforma. Ekeland pressionou ainda mais Lichtenstein durante o julgamento sobre se ele conhecia ou se comunicava com o acusado, o que ele negou.

O advogado então perguntou sobre o uso de drogas de Lichtenstein, referindo-se a depoimentos anteriores, onde Lichtenstein admitiu ter comprado cogumelos e LSD nos mercados da darknet. No entanto, ele esclareceu que estava sóbrio durante os hacks.

Sterlingov is enfrentando multiple charges, which include money laundering, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and engaging in money transmission without the requisite license in the District of Columbia.

Hacker Bitfinex revela motivo

During his testimony, Lichtenstein highlighted the reason for the Bitfinex hack in 2016, saying he faced issues with his tech startup in San Francisco. He further explained that during the time, he was burnt out from the struggling business. Later, he recrutados his wife, Heather Morgan, to aid in concealing the origin of the funds. Morgan, who called herself the “Crocodile of Wall Street,” sought social media recognition by rapping about investment strategies.

O governo alega that the pair utilized counterfeit identities to establish online accounts, masking the transaction trail by depositing and withdrawing funds through cryptocurrency exchanges and darknet markets. According to government assertions, some embezzled funds were allocated to purchase nonfungible tokens (NFTs), gold, and Walmart gift cards.

Em agosto de 2023, Lichtenstein e sua esposa se confessaram formalmente culpados de acusações de lavagem de dinheiro e conspiração para cometer fraude, encerrando um mistério que durou sete anos.