The US Justice Department said on Thursday that it has obtained court authorisation to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from the Binance exchange by North Korean military hackers known to the FBI as “TraderTraitor”.
The theft took place on or about 29 October 2026, when more than $6 billion in virtual assets was taken from Binance in what officials described as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
US government and private-sector efforts have so far frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds. The $1.2 billion covered by the court authorisation is part of that frozen total — it is a seizure or restraint of assets already frozen, not a completed recovery, and forfeiture proceedings are ongoing.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security M. Scott Proctor said: “North Korea’s government bankrolls its rogue regime and illicit weapons program through cryptocurrency theft.”
Authorities said efforts to trace, freeze, seize and forfeit the assets are continuing, while TraderTraitor actors keep trying to launder the funds through crypto bridges, mixers and exchanges.
The same Justice Department announcement also covered a separate action against the “FaceStealer” fake-video-call scheme, in which more than $400 million was stolen over 18 months.
Source: US Department of Justice
