Bybit Takes North Korea to Court Over $1.5B Crypto Heist
Crypto exchange Bybit has taken its fight against North Korea's alleged $1.5 billion hack to the courts, securing a preliminary injunction freezing identified stolen assets.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group as defendants.
Bybit's co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said the theft was 'an attack on trust in our industry,' and that the exchange had worked with investigators, exchanges, regulators and law enforcement before turning to the courts.
The court has identified $48.4 million recovered and about $30.5 million frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians, amounting to approximately 5% of what was taken.