LuBian wallet transferred 11 886 BTC after the US Department of Justice seized $15 billion

Key points:

• On October 15, a wallet linked to the Chinese mining company LuBian transferred nearly $1,3 billion in bitcoins.
• The transfer took place a day after the US Department of Justice seized $15 billion in BTC in the Prince Holding Group crypto fraud case.
• Experts believe that LuBian’s activity may be related to the investigation of cryptocurrency money laundering schemes.

On October 15, a wallet linked to the Chinese bitcoin mining company LuBian transferred nearly $1,3 billion in BTC. This happened a day after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) took action to seize $15 billion in bitcoins, allegedly stolen from a mining pool in 2020.

According to Lookonchain, 9757 bitcoins (about $1,1 billion) were transferred from the wallet. PeckShield analysts note that the funds were distributed between two wallets after three years of inactivity.

Source: x.com

According to Arkham Intelligence, a few hours after the first transfer, another 2129 BTC worth approximately $238 million was transferred from the wallet. In total, 11 886 bitcoins (~$1,3 billion) were sent to new wallets.

The wallets may have been linked to fraud

The wallet became active after the DOJ announced an indictment against Prince Holding Group, a Cambodian company accused of organizing large-scale crypto fraud.

On October 14, US prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize approximately $14,4 billion linked to a network led by Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Group.

The US Department of Justice said the bitcoins are already under arrest and will be confiscated after Zhi is convicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. According to the Justice Department, Zhi and his accomplices laundered illegal proceeds from their activities to finance mining operations.

The investigation involves Warp Data, its Texas subsidiary, and the Chinese company LuBian, which was among the top six largest bitcoin pools in the world in 2020.

Seized bitcoins may replenish US national reserves

Following the court’s decision, the seized bitcoins could become one of the largest additions to the US government’s digital asset reserve.

In March, Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve. At the time, David Sacks, the White House’s chief of staff for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, said the reserve would be capitalized with bitcoins confiscated in criminal or civil cases.