China's Cybersecurity Agency has accused the US government of stealing approximately $13 billion in sanctions money, marking China's latest attempt to attribute major cyberattacks to the US.
The indictment relates to 127,272 thefts from the LuBian mining pool in December 2020, marking one of the largest cryptocurrency heists in history. According to China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, the hack was likely a "state-level hacking operation" led by the US.
In a report published last week, Chinese authorities stated that the quiet and delayed movement of the stolen funds is more consistent with government-level action than formal criminal behavior. The report linked the stolen cryptocurrencies from LuBian, once one of the largest mining operations in the world, to tokens confiscated by the US. The US government claimed that these confiscated tokens were linked to Chen Zhi, the chairman of the Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group.
"The US government may have already used hacking techniques in 2020 to steal 127,000 victims obtained by Chen Zhi," the report stated. "This is a classic 'black eat black' operation orchestrated by a state-level hacking organization."
The Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit seeking 127,271 records, the largest forfeiture action ever in the US. Federal prosecutors involved in Chen's case declined to comment on how they gained control of the records.