The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into the alleged hack that resulted in approximately $372 million being stolen from FTX-controlled wallets on the evening that the Bahamas-based exchange declared bankruptcy.
Massive cryptocurrency outflows began on Nov. 11 and continued into the early hours of Nov. 12, moving funds out of FTX and FTX US's wallets.
Several FTX workers acknowledged on Twitter to sleuth ZachXBT that they were unaware of the transfers.
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FTX General Counsel Ryne Miller tweeted that the exchange was "investigating abnormalities with wallet movements" more than an hour after the alleged hack began.
He later pinned a message in FTX's official Telegram support channel that read: "FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. Chat is open. Don’t go on FTX site as it might download Trojans."
Throughout the chaos, the official FTX Twitter account was silent.
Miller's Twitter account posted a statement from FTX CEO John Jay Ray III on the afternoon of Nov. 12, confirming the hack and stating that company officials were in contact with law enforcement.
According to Bloomberg, the criminal probe is separate from the fraud case against ousted former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The report further stated that officials were able to freeze a portion of the stolen money.
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