Norway Seizes $5.9M in Crypto Related to Axie Infinity Hack
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Feb. 16, 2023

Norwegian authorities alongside the FBI have seized $5.9 million worth of crypto stolen from NFT-based game Axie Infinity.

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In a press release, the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (also known as Økokrim) said that the seizure is the largest one made by Norwegian police.

Marianne Bender, Senior Public Prosecutor at Økokrim, said the cooperating with FBI "makes us stronger as a society in the fight against digital, profit-motivated crime." She added:

"This case shows that we have a great capacity to follow the money on the blockchain, even if the criminals use advanced methods."

The agency didn't elaborate on how exactly it had managed to seize the assets nor from whom.

In September 2022, US law enforcement agencies in a cooperation with a blockchain forensic firm Chainalysis recovered over $30 million worth of cryptocurrency out of $600 million stolen by North Korean-linked hackers.

US Treasury Sanctions Blender.io Mixer Over Axie Infinity Hack

As iHodl earlier reported, the US Treasury linked North Korean hackers known as Lazarus Group to a crypto address that was part of a massive $600+ million hack of Axie Infinity, a blockchain game made by Sky Mavis. Chainalysis CEO, Michael Gronager, said that the hackers tried to obfuscate the source of funds with the help of cross-chain bridges.

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