The Tokyo District Court has ordered the seize of cryptocurrency tied to the $530 million hack cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck suffered back in 2018.
The move comes two years after Coincheck saw hackers access its wallets and steal over $500 million worth of NEM (XEM) in what became the cryptocurrency space’s biggest heist to date. A report from a local publication details the Tokyo District Court ordered the seizure of 4.8 million yen (about $45,000) in BTC and XEM.
The Japan Times details the funds are to be confiscated from Takayoshi Doi, a 30-year old doctor from Obihiro, Hokkaido, who was arrested back in March together with an accomplice for allegedly buying crypto linked to the Coincheck hack. While police believe Doi was not responsible for the hack, buying stolen crypto violates a law against participating in organized crime.
was shortly after acquired by the online brokerage Monex Group for “several billion yen.” After the acquisition, it was approved for an operating license as it made several improvements to its systems.
Earlier this year, however, Coincheck customers fell victim to a data breach after attackers accessed one of the cryptocurrency exchange’s domain name accounts, and used it to impersonate the trading platform. An incident notice suggested the attackers used Coincheck’s .jp domain to send customers fraudulent emails.
The Tokyo District Court reportedly placed a protective order on Doi’s cryptoassets ahead of a police-authorized confiscation of the funds. These were moved to a domestic cryptocurrency exchange, and if Doi is found guilty the seized funds may be forfeited to the government and potentially used to compensate victims of the 2018 hack.
The Japan Times notes the court order to seize the cryptoassets is believed to have been the first one issued in an Asian country.
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