Greece Seizes Crypto in First North Korea Hack Case
Greece Makes First Crypto Seizure Linked to North Korea's Bybit Hack
Greek authorities have conducted the nation's first cryptocurrency seizure, successfully blocking access to funds pilfered during February's record-breaking $1.5 billion Bybit hack, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group.
The Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority (HAMA) identified a suspicious transaction leading to a wallet directly linked to the initial theft. According to Greece's Minister of Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, this wallet was connected to a Greek cryptocurrency exchange.
Analysts utilized Chainalysis Reactor to trace the funds' movement, establishing a direct link between the suspect's wallet and the primary wallets implicated in the Bybit hack. This evidence enabled HAMA to issue a freezing order, securing the assets before they could be moved.
Significant Recovery and Ongoing Investigation
HAMA's actions have reportedly resulted in the recovery of approximately €10 million (approximately $11.7 million), which has been returned to victims. The connection between this recovery and the recent seizure remains unclear.
Past actions by the hackers involved using cryptocurrency mixers such as Wasabi and Tornado Cash, cross-chain bridges, and peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges to obscure their tracks.
Bybit's public LazarusBounty dashboard indicates that roughly $72 million (5% of the stolen Ether) has been frozen, with a third remaining traceable. However, approximately $870 million of the stolen funds have become untraceable.
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