Mt. Gox Hack Connected to BTC-e Outtage - $4 Billion Dollars Laundered via BTC-e
A Russian national has been taken into custody by authorities and will be facing charges today in Greece for passing nearly $4 billion dollars in stolen BTC over 6 years through a number of exchanges, including BTC-e.
@Wizsecurity, a white hat watchdog investigating the Mt. Gox hack, has released a preliminary report on the connection, and Vinnik's arrest just days ago:
The man has since been publicly identified as Alexander Vinnik, 38, and over $4 billion USD is said to have been trafficked through the operation since 2011.
We won't beat around the bush with it: Vinnik is our chief suspect for involvement in the Mt. Gox theft (or the laundering of the proceeds thereof).
A large number of ties have been released connecting Vinnik back the transfer of the stolen funds, not as the hacker. Though, it is becoming clear Vinnik played an important role in the operation:
[Vinnik] is a key person behind the BTC-e crypto-currency exchange, two sources close to the exchange told Reuters.
After the coins entered Vinnik's wallets, most were moved to BTC-e and presumably sold off or laundered (BTC-e money codes were a popular choice). In total some 300,000 BTC ended up on BTC-e, while other coins were deposited to other exchanges, including Mt. Gox itself.
It also appears that Mt. Gox was not the only target of the alleged hacker & laundering group. A number of other exchanges were drained as well and the funds were funneled through the same wallets to launder the coins.
Vinnik being escorted to court Wednesday July 26th - courtesy BitcoinNews
The stolen MtGox coins were not the only stolen coins handled by Vinnik; coins stolen from Bitcoinica, Bitfloor and several other thefts from back in 2011 and 2012 were all laundered through the same wallets.
@Wizsec is set to release a more detailed report about the findings of the exchange thefts, the players involved, and the arrests and takedown of BTC-e that will be available right here on @thebeachedwhale powered by Steemit.
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