In a direct deal with to the general public, Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded responsible final yr to costs related to the 2016 theft of roughly 120,000 Bitcoin from the crypto alternate Bitfinex, issued a brand new assertion on Thursday refuting alleged third-party involvement within the hack. His five-minute video, posted to X, represents Lichtenstein’s first publicly out there assertion since his arrest in 2022. He straight challenged claims made in a Netflix documentary suggesting his father—or any exterior celebration, together with doable international intelligence companies—participated within the notorious heist.
Lichtenstein Stole 120,000 Bitcoin Alone
Chatting with the digicam, Lichtenstein stated: “I deliberate and executed the Bitfinex heist totally on my own. And I’m the one who bears full duty for all the pieces that has occurred.” He additional disputed different speculations, stating: “Any allegations that my aged and by no means tech-savvy father had any involvement in any hacking exercise ever are fully false and albeit absurd.”
The 2016 hack of Bitfinex stands as some of the important safety breaches in crypto historical past. On the time, the theft of 120,000 Bitcoin was valued at roughly $72 million, although the present market worth of these cash is estimated to exceed $12.6 billion. Prosecutors have beforehand famous that Ilya’s spouse, Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, grew to become concerned solely after the very fact, having pleaded guilty to 1 depend of cash laundering conspiracy and one depend of conspiracy to defraud america.
Within the video, Lichtenstein maintained that Morgan’s function didn’t prolong to hacking or orchestrating the theft itself: “Whereas it’s true that my spouse pleaded responsible to laundering a small portion of the funds, she was by no means concerned within the hack itself. She didn’t even learn about it for years.”
In keeping with official statements and the plea settlement, Lichtenstein has been cooperating with authorities to facilitate the return of stolen funds. Throughout the video, he reiterated these efforts: “For the previous three years, I’ve labored exhausting to account for and return all property right down to the final Satoshi as required by my plea settlement. And I’ll proceed to take action all through the forfeiture and restitution course of, which is predicted to return greater than $10 billion by the primary quarter of subsequent yr.”
Lichtenstein overtly acknowledged his wrongdoing: “I hacked Bitfinex. I stole and laundered hundreds of Bitcoin. And I’m so sorry for all the pieces.” He expressed regret and a want to make amends, describing himself as having made “one dangerous egocentric resolution after one other” throughout the interval of the hack and its aftermath. Emphasizing his sole duty, he said: “No one else aside from me is chargeable for the hack.”
He additionally indicated plans for his future following the completion of his jail sentence: “When I’m launched from jail a few yr from now, I plan to dedicate myself to working within the cybersecurity trade.” Claiming a singular perspective knowledgeable by his previous illicit actions, Lichtenstein believes he can contribute to cybersecurity defenses going ahead: “No one understands how hackers suppose like somebody who has been a hacker… I do know the cyber threats that we face, and I understand how to cease them.”
All claims, as Lichtenstein famous, might be verified by publicly out there court docket paperwork. He suggested Netflix viewers to learn these paperwork to develop their very own knowledgeable conclusions: “You don’t need to take my phrase for it. All the court docket paperwork laying out the info of the case are publicly out there. You may learn them your self and make up your individual thoughts.”
Neither representatives of Bitfinex nor Netflix have publicly commented on Lichtenstein’s video on the time of reporting.
At press time, Bitcoin traded at $102,371.
Featured picture from X, chart from TradingView.com
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