DOJ targets $1.2 billion in Binance theft proceeds

The U.S. Department of Justice said it obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, as federal authorities also disrupted cloud infrastructure used in a separate North Korean hacking campaign called FaceStealer.

The Binance funds are part of more than $2.7 billion frozen through government and private-sector efforts since the theft, which the FBI attributed to North Korean military hackers it calls TraderTraitor. The FBI said the theft involved more than $6 billion in virtual assets around October 29. The court authorization covers funds already frozen; it does not mean the full amount has been recovered or forfeited.

The Justice Department said tracing and recovery efforts are continuing as actors move assets through cryptocurrency bridges, mixers and exchanges. The department described the authorized amount as a portion of the frozen total. How much will ultimately be seized and forfeited has not been established.

Separately, the FBI said it seized cloud infrastructure used in FaceStealer, a campaign associated with more than $400 million in cryptocurrency theft over 18 months. Investigators also seized more...