Økokrim- The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime records 5.8 million USD in crypto stolen from the crypto game Axie Infinity. The recovered fund is being held by the said authority and marks the “biggest crypto seizure the Norwegian police have ever made.”
Investigation by Økokrim into the digital attack on Sky Mavis and Axie Infinity brought about the NOK 60 million ($5.8) seizure.
Axie Infinity was attacked in March, 2022, where upto $600 million was stolen from the game. Following the attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disclosed that the North Korean hacker group Lazarus had a hand in the exploit.
Last year, the Lazarus group along with other actors like Andariel and Kimsuky were reported in a February 2023 United Nations report to have stolen upto $1 billion in crypto.
Økokrim collaborated and followed the money laundering process with international partners like the FBI to track proceeds from the theft. The tracking process made it difficult for the hackers to freely launder the stolen funds. Økokrim expressed their satisfaction with the cooperation the FBI and the US Department of Justice showed in the case.
The First State Attorney, Marianne Bender said that the collaboration “means that we as a society stand stronger in the fight against digital, profit-motivated crime and affirmed they work with FBI specialists on tracking cryptocurrency.
Bender also said “this is money that can support North Korea and their nuclear weapons programme,” hence, it is important to track the stolen funds and stop the hackers from converting them.to physical values.
Økokrim assured they will “continue to follow the money laundering process of the hackers and try to stop and confiscate money they try to withdraw in the physical world in the future.”
Marianne Bender further said this case reveals that Økokrim “also have a great capacity to follow the money on the blockchain, even if the criminals use advanced methods.”
Following the Axie Infinity seizure, The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime lifted the hope of Sky Mavis assuring that in the greatest way possible the aggrieved would get their money back.
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