Friday, the US Department of Justice announced that charges related to the 2011 breach of cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox have been unsealed.
The accusations are also related to the operation of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange, the company said. The deadline for reparations to the defunct cryptocurrency exchange’s creditors has recently made headlines.
The new deadline for repayment has been extended to October 31, 2023. Before the repayment announcement, it was hypothesized that the additional Bitcoin would negatively affect the BTC price.
According to the Justice Department’s explanation, two Russian nationals aided cybercriminals in global money laundering. Two individuals have been charged with conspiring to launder substantial amounts of Bitcoin.
Department of Justice Charges Mt Gox Hackers
In addition to conspiring to launder Bitcoin, one of the two Russians was also charged with conspiring to operate BTC-e. This defunct cryptocurrency trading platform was shut down in 2017.
The Department of Justice alleged that since 2011, Alexey Bilyuchenko, 43, and Aleksandr Verner, 29, stole a massive quantity of cryptocurrency from Mt. Gox, thereby contributing to the eventual bankruptcy of the exchange.
“Bilyuchenko and Verner are charged with conspiring to launder approximately 647,000 bitcoins from their hack of Mt. Gox. Bilyuchenko is also charged with conspiring with Alexander Vinnik to operate BTC-e from 2011 to 2017.”
As and when Mt Gox creditors begin receiving their payments, it is uncertain whether or not the Bitcoin price will experience a significant reaction.
