The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized more than $1.7 million worth of crypto assets between March and May 2023. The crypto assets were confiscated for federal forfeiture due to a breach of federal law by the holders. The seized crypto assets included Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether USD (USDT), Dai, and Monero (XMR).
According to an official notification circulated by the FBI earlier today, the agency seized BTC worth $147,000, ETH worth $800,000, USDT worth $307,000, 469,000 in DAI, and roughly $20,000 worth of XRM. The majority of the crypto assets were seized from the Eastern District of Virginia. This subset accounted for more than 70% of the total seized assets, worth over $1.2 million.
The highest seizure was of 468,607 DAI on April 27, which the federal agency valued at $469,076. Next in line was a seizure of 244.5 ETH, which was valued at $463,811 at the time. The FBI confiscated crypto assets from more than 60 different jurisdictions across the United States over a period of three months.
The crypto assets were seized from various sources like wallets held on centralized exchanges and hardware wallets. The FBI seized nearly $400,000 worth of crypto from six Binance exchange wallets. The agency’s seizures also included other items like bank accounts, luxury merchandise, sports cars, etc.
As per the FBI’s filing, the owners of the seized crypto assets may file a petition for remission or mitigation in order to receive a pardon for the forfeiture of their property. Additionally, the owners would have 30 days to file a claim to contest the forfeiture of their crypto assets. As a final resort, the owners could request the release of the seized property based on hardship, depending on their ability to meet specific conditions laid out by the federal agency.
