The FBI said Thursday it had seized more than US$1.2 billion in cryptocurrency reported stolen from Binance last month, following a theft of about US$6.3 billion from the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

The announcement was reported from Washington by The Associated Press in a story published by CityNews. The Binance theft is regarded as the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, according to the report. The FBI has previously attributed it to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group.

The U.S. government and private sector have together frozen more than US$2.7 billion of the stolen funds so far. The Justice Department said Thursday it had obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than US$1.2 billion of that amount. That authorization therefore concerns a portion of the funds already frozen, rather than an additional US$1.2 billion on top of the broader total.

The process for determining who is entitled to recovered funds generally involves a further court proceeding. Typically, the U.S. government files a forfeiture claim with a judge, who then determines who has a legitimate claim to the assets, AP reported.

In a separate announcement Thursday, the FBI also blamed North Korea for a social engineering scheme that officials say led to the theft of US$400 million in cryptocurrency over the past 18 months.

Known as FaceStealer, that scheme combines the hijacking of popular messaging apps with the recording of deepfake videos in a complicated sequence of events. Officials described it as a separate operation from the Binance theft.

U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of using cyber schemes to raise money for its regime, including its illicit weapons program, according to AP.

Sources