South Korean authorities have recovered 4.8 Bitcoin (BTC) linked to the 2019 hack of the Upbit exchange, with the stolen Ethereum (ETH) now worth over $1 billion. South Korea’s police have confirmed the involvement of North Korean hacker groups Lazarus and Andariel in this cyberattack. The hackers laundered 57% of the stolen ETH through exchanges and global platforms.
After tracing blockchain activity and analyzing North Korean IP addresses, investigators found patterns in language usage. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also supported the investigation. The recovered Bitcoin has been returned to Upbit. Upbit is currently under scrutiny from South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) over KYC-related violations.
