Chinese authorities have accused the United States of "hacking theft" in the seizure of 127,271 Bitcoin from Cambodian fraud organization Prince Group, claiming American hackers stole the cryptocurrency five years before recent US sanctions.
The US Justice Department announced in October it had confiscated the Bitcoin, valued at over US$14 billion (HK$109.2 billion), from group founder Vincent Chen Zhi, alleging the digital assets represented proceeds from human trafficking and online fraud operations.
However, a report released by Beijing on November 9 claims US authorities actually orchestrated the theft of Chen's 127,000 Bitcoin back in December 2020 from the LuBian mining pool, once among the world's largest Bitcoin mining operations.
"The US government may have stolen Vincent Chen's 127,000 Bitcoin through hacking techniques as early as 2020. This is a typical case of state-level hacking organizations conducting 'theft among thieves,'" the Chinese report stated.
Prince Group broke its silence Tuesday, calling the US allegations "baseless" and stating the accusations have "caused undue harm to thousands of innocent employees, partners and communities." The group expressed confidence that Vincent Chen would "completely clear his name."
