- Norwegian authorities have seized $5.9 million from the Ronin hack
- Some 10% of the stolen funds have been recovered
- Norwegian police worked with the FBI to get the funds back
Norwegian authorities have revealed that they recently confiscated cryptocurrency worth 60 million krone ($5.9 million) in connection with an investigation into the attack on the Ronin bridge last year. The achievement represents the largest ever crypto seizure by Norwegian police and is also one of the largest cash seizures ever made in the country. The Ronin bridge was hacked for around $540 million in March 2022, and remains one of the biggest ever crypto hacks.
10% of Ronin Hack Funds Recovered
In the year or so since the hack, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has helped investigators around the world retrieve at least 10% of the stolen funds, which were taken when hackers were able to obtain the majority of the private keys belonging to the blockchain validators. Following the incident, U.S. officials tied the Ethereum wallets utilized in the attack to North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
Once the funds were stolen they didn’t stay in the wallets for long, with the hackers leaving just $376 by April 4. To obscure the origins of the coins they were laundering, the group routed the funds through intermediaries such as Tornado Cash.
Norway’s First State Attorney Marianne Bender didn’t reveal much about how the funds were recovered, saying just that Norwegian authorities collaborated with FBI specialists. It also hasn’t been revealed what will happen to the funds, but this will almost certainly become known over time.
