According to investigators, the cryptocurrency wallet belonged to an assistant to the general director of an unnamed commercial organization. In March, the suspect gained access to the victim's wallet in an "unidentified way" and transferred digital assets from it to another address, as stated in the case materials.
A search was conducted at the suspect's home, and three computers and three mobile phones were seized. The equipment was sent for examination as it may contain important digital evidence for the case, the police explained. Currently, operatives are checking the detainee for involvement in other cases of cryptocurrency theft and identifying possible accomplices.
The case has been initiated under the article on theft on a particularly large scale (clause "b" of part four of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The man faces up to ten years in prison.
A hardware, cold cryptocurrency wallet is a method of storing digital assets where private keys are kept on a device or medium not permanently connected to the internet. This method is considered more secure in terms of protection from remote hacking. However, if a criminal gains physical or other direct access to the keys, they can freely dispose of the funds stored in the wallet.
In early June, the Kirovsky District Court of Tomsk sentenced two local residents accused of robbery and stealing cryptocurrency from an acquaintance. The men were sent to a strict regime penal colony — one for eight years, the other for nine and a half. Under threat of violence, the robbers forced the victim to log into their personal account on a cryptocurrency exchange and transfer more than 85 bitcoins. At the time of the theft, the value of the cryptocurrency was estimated at $5.1 million.
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