Are Russians Behind the $477 Million Stolen from FTX?
As the trial of FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried continues, surprising details continue to emerge. The last detail was that it was understood that the money stolen from the stock market may have connections with Russia.
FTX will enter bankruptcy on November 11, 2022
had applied. Later the same day, there was an attack on the stock market, causing a loss of $477 million.
Possibility of Russia Behind the FTX Attack
After the attack, most of the stolen funds remained dormant for five days. The majority of the 65,000 ETH amount was then transferred to the Bitcoin blockchain using RenBridge.
The attackers then used a mixer. Approximately 2,849 of the 4,536 BTC converted through RenBridge were used in ChipMixer and some were sent to cryptocurrency exchanges. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic stated that there may be a connection with Russia as a strong possibility behind the attack. A significant portion of the stolen assets, especially those that can be tracked through ChipMixer, appear to be related to the funds of criminal organizations associated with Russia.
Who are the Possible Suspects?
Elliptic's investigation raises doubts about FTX employees_ who had access to the exchange's crypto assets. Considering the complex events that took place during FTX's bankruptcy, suspicions that an internal employee could steal these assets are strengthened.
Elliptic also addresses FTX's weak security, emphasizing that an outside party could also carry out the attack. FTX's new CEO announced that there was no encryption in the keys that provide access to the company's assets and that an employee stole over million dollars in private assets from Alameda Research that provided access to the company's crypto assets.
Another detail is the use of the Sinbad mixer. This usage also indicates that the North Korean Lazarus Group may be behind the work.