The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with Citibank, Sony, and Japanese law enforcement, has taken action to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The U.S. Department of Justice detailed: “As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoin address.”
Citibank and Sony Help FBI Seize Bitcoin Worth $180 Million
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that the U.S. has “filed a civil forfeiture complaint” to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.”
The FBI and various Japanese law enforcement agencies investigated the case “with significant assistance from Sony and Citibank,” the announcement details, adding:
As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoin address.
Rei Ishii, an employee of Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd. in Tokyo, allegedly “embezzled” $154 million in May and transferred the funds to an account he controlled at a bank in La Jolla, California. He then quickly converted the funds “to more than 3,879 bitcoins valued today at more than $180 million.”
At the current price of bitcoin, this stack of BTC is worth almost $188 million.
The justice department explained that “Those funds were seized by law enforcement on Dec. 1, 2021, based on the FBI’s investigation,” elaborating:
Law enforcement was able to trace bitcoin transfers and identify that approximately 3,879.16 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the funds stolen from a subsidiary of Sony Life, had been transferred to a specific bitcoin address and then to an offline cryptocurrency cold wallet.
“All the bitcoins traceable to the theft have been recovered and fully preserved. Ishii has been criminally charged…
