Despite its success, the cryptocurrency space, like every other business aspect of life, cannot boast of being without vices. One of the downs of the industry includes crypto scams and hacks, which have been prevalent in the space for a while now.
In a new report by the Japanese Police, the police have now arrested at least 30 persons who have been affiliated to the loss of about $534 million in Coincheck’s 2018 hack. In the police report, the 30 people investigated so far have been found to play one role or the other in the largest cryptocurrency hack in the country.
The police are investigating about 30 people traced to the hack
The position of Coincheck crypto exchange as one of the largest exchanges in Japan has made this case one of the most talked-about in Japan despite its occurring about 3years ago. In the police report, the stolen funds that were carted away in NEMs were traced to these 30 people’s accounts under investigation. The hack, which led to losses of more than 520 Nem coins, was allegedly stored on a hot wallet by the hackers who stole the exchange’s private key to transact their customer’s tokens illegally.
Despite the exchange coming out a few days after the hack to state that it knew the address where the hacked funds have gone, it still could not lay hands on the funds or even the act’s perpetrators. The exchange had one time also suggested that the attack might have been carried out by the Russian hackers capable of breaking into their security firewall by infecting their systems with viruses that would give them unauthorized access to their system.
The police investigation may soon start yielding result
The ongoing investigation of the hack by the Japanese police might start to take a new form, as it is believed that the new arrests will not prove to be a futile effort like the one in March last year. The police arrested two suspects linked to the robbery in March 2020 after setting up a malicious website to launder the hacks’ proceeds.
The arrested suspects were accused of purchasing the stolen tokens at cheaper rates. The suspects claimed they were not aware of the circumstances surrounding the token. Unfortunately, the police are still unable to prove that they are guilty of the charges labeled upon them. However, the good news around the new arrest for the exchange is that the Japanese police claim that it has been able to trace about $190 million worth of the stolen tokens to accounts of the individuals under investigation.
However, the police still investigating them are not yet to ascertain whether most of the arrested individuals are guilty or innocent of the charges. The Japanese police and financial authorities are currently upgrading all efforts to ensure that justice is served and Coincheck can get back their stolen resources.
