There is an ongoing criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried while cryptocurrency experts are following a different FTX-related crime. There are still-unidentified thieves who stole over $400 million out of FTX on the same day that the exchange declared bankruptcy. After nine months of silence, the thieves have been busy moving the funds across blockchains to cash out their money, while covering their tracks.
According to one crypto tracing firm, some clues suggest the thieves may have ties to Russia. Elliptic, the cryptocurrency tracing firm, released a report on the path the funds have taken over the last 11 months. The money, between $415 and $432 million, has been moved through a long list of crypto services as it is being prepped for liquidation and laundering. The person laundering the funds appears to have ties to Russian cybercrime. One portion of the money ended up in a pool of funds that also includes cryptocurrency from Russian-linked ransomware hackers and dark web markets. This suggests that even if the thieves are not Russian, the money launderers who received the stolen funds are likely Russian, or work with cybercriminals from Russia.
Read More: New Clues Suggest Stolen FTX Funds Went to Russia-Linked Money Launderers
