Bitfinex hacker, Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year to the 2016 theft of 120,000 Bitcoin from the exchange, has made his first public statement since his arrest in 2022.
In a five-minute video posted to X, Lichtenstein fully accepted responsibility for the hack, saying he had acted alone. The statement contradicted speculation, amplified in a Netflix documentary series, that his father might have been behind it.
Bitfinex Hacker Breaks Silence
Ilya Lichtenstein, the self-proclaimed Bitfinex hacker and mastermind behind the 2016 theft of 120,000 Bitcoin, spoke for the first time publicly since his arrest in 2022.
In a Tuesday video, Lichtenstein once again emphasized that he was the sole culprit behind the crime. He also dismissed Netflix documentary suggestions that his father was involved or that he had ties to a Russian spy agency.
I have something to say#FreeRazzlekhan pic.twitter.com/9HIvOxcbgr
— Ilya Lichtenstein (@unrealdutch) December 19, 2024
Lichtenstein also said he was sorry and described what he would do after serving his time in prison. “After I get out of prison, I plan to work in the cybersecurity industry,” he said, emphasizing that he now truly understands cyber threats and is committed to combating them. His five-year sentence includes the time already served since his 2022 arrest while the case was pending.
He stated:
“My dad is no hacker, he doesn’t even know how to use Instagram. I offer my sincerest apologies to Bitfinex for all the stress that I have caused them. I knew what I was doing was wrong and I did it anyway because I didn’t care … I look back at the person I was then, and I hate myself. I hate myself.”
He addressed the restitution process of the funds stolen from the exchange. Bitfinex hacker added that over the past three years, he has worked to account for and return all plea-required assets. He also said that he will continue doing this.
A hearing on restitution will be in February that will determine if the money got back to Bitfinex or directly to its users.
Exchange hacks are nothing new. Recently, the Indian crypto exchange WazirX received a severe blow when the Delhi High Court ordered a fresh investigation into the matter. The court trashed the status report filed by the Delhi police regarding the WazirX hack case and asked for a fresh inquiry. Furthermore, only a few days ago, there were reports that Gate exchange suffered a hack attack, and that the users should withdraw their funds.
“Razzlekhan” Morgan Admits Role in Laundering Stolen Bitcoin
Bitfinex hacker’s wife, Heather Morgan, aka “Razzlekhan,” pleaded guilty as well. Charges were of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Prosecutors said Morgan learned about Bitfinex hack years later and that Lichtenstein asked her to help launder these Bitcoins.
Morgan, who gained notoriety for her bizarre rap videos, last month got 18 months in prison over the scheme. Recently, she had been peddling her own videos on Cameo for $125 apiece. She could report to prison as early as next month. The Bitcoin, which had a value of $70 million in 2016, is now worth around $12 billion.
The Netflix documentary on the case said that a large portion of the stolen money was still unaccounted for. However, Lichtenstein disagreed with the claim, stating that all money had been accounted for.
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