After a year-long investigation, the Justice Department wants to seize $16 million worth of FTX-pegged cryptocurrencies

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit after a year-long investigation, seeking the seizure of approximately $16 million worth of cryptocurrencies held in a Binance account.

Details of a Court records A review by Decrypt shows that the tokens in question are allegedly linked to bribes approved by Sam Bankman-Fried.

The case potentially complicates law enforcement recovery efforts because the assets have more than doubled in value since they were first transferred.

The Binance account, created in November 2023, is said to have held Internet Computer (ICP), Avalanche (AVAX), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL) tokens. Notably, more than half of the tokens held in the account were in SOL, equivalent to about $8.5 million.

Its value is estimated to have risen to $16 million since the crypto market’s remarkable rally this year, buoyed by an improvement in sentiment due to US-listed spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds.

The case stems from an incident in November 2021 in which Bankman-Fried allegedly ordered the transfer of 40 million USDT from an Alameda Research wallet to initiate a bribe payment to Chinese officials. The purpose was to release about $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies held on two China-based exchanges.

According to the filing, funds were tracked across multiple private wallets, whose movements ultimately ended up in a Binance deposit wallet between December 2021 and December 2023.

Authorities allege the account had suspicious transaction patterns, including “almost daily” stablecoin and Bitcoin deposits that were “quickly” converted into other cryptos through over-the-counter transactions.

This is the latest in a series of developments in the prosecution of assets related to FTX-related crimes, long after that of Bankman-Fried conviction in seven crimes.

The former crypto mogul currently serves one 25 years imprisonment and has appealed his conviction to his attorney claim The former CEO was “considered guilty – before he was even charged.”

The bribery charges, which were originally part of the indictment against Bankman-Fried, were one of thirteen charges accusing him of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. That charge was later separated from the trial that led to his conviction.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair