The US government’s decision establishes that Bitfinex alone suffered loss from the 2016 hack, and the authorities have recovered 94,000 BTC belonging to the “Bitfinex Hack Wallet.” This decision came after none of the prospective victims came forward to respond to the information request by the DOJ.
Arrests and Sentencing
Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan pleaded guilty to money laundering of 119,754 bitcoin stolen in the hack. Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years and Morgan to 18 months imprisonment.
Prior methods of compensation
Following the 2016 hack. Bitfinex issued BFX tokens to affected users at a 1:1 USD: 1 ratio with USD, to be redeemed by April 2017. The exchange also received other compensation in 2023 in form of cash and Bitcoin Cash.
Restitution Decision Details
The restitution order indicates a major step towards addressing the that followed the hack that happened in 2016. The remaining RES will be used to buy back Recovery Right Tokens. Furthermore, the rest of the money will be distributed to LEO token holders for 18 months.
