Individual Detained in Romania Under Suspicion of Stealing Thousands of Cryptos From an Unnamed Major Exchange

Romanian authorities pursued an operation that left a person detained for the individual’s alleged involvement in a case of stealing from a cryptocurrency exchange. The investigation revealed that the unnamed trading platform company is located in the Cayman Islands.

Over $620,000 Stolen During the Cyberattack

According to the prosecutors of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism of Romania, the crypto exchange suffered a massive cyberattack between January 28 and 31, 2021.

Although there are no significant details on the company, authorities categorized it as the “7th largest cryptocurrency operator in the world.” The unidentified man is suspected of having been caught in the heist involving over $620,000 worth of crypto.

Per the official press release, prosecutors have charged him with IT fraud, money laundering, and hacking. Findings also show that the alleged hacker got access to sensitive API codes, which eventually opened the doors to the entire exchange’s system’s full access.

Individual to Remain Detained for 30 Days

The individual reportedly transferred the stolen cryptos to several wallets to hide the traceability of the transactions. To bypass verification procedures, withdrawals were made by the man with amounts less than 10,000 lei ($2,430).

Still, the individual intended to profit with such moves, as the people behind the wallets paid him in fiat, said the prosecutors.

Romanian authorities provided more details on the operation in Iași:

The prosecutors of DIICOT — Iași Territorial Service together with judicial police officers from BCCO Iași carried out two home searches, following which seven mobile phones, three laptops, five memory sticks, and two electronic wallets and the amount of 10,800 lei ($2,630). The amount of 40,000 lei ($9,750) was also recovered, in the account of one of the bitcoin exchangers.

The defendant is set to face pre-trial detention for 30 days, as the Iași Court will be in charge of handling the legal procedures of the case.

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