A US courtroom has sentenced Shakeeb Ahmed to 3 years in jail for hacking two separate decentralized crypto exchanges and stealing digital belongings value over $12 million, in keeping with an April 12 assertion from the US Division of Justice.
The sentencing marks the primary time somebody has been convicted for hacking a sensible contract.
US lawyer Damian Williams stated:
“Irrespective of how novel or subtle the hack, this Workplace and our regulation enforcement companions are dedicated to following the cash and bringing hackers to justice. And as at this time’s sentence reveals, time in jail — and forfeiture of all of the stolen crypto — is the inevitable consequence of such damaging hacks.”
Ahmed was additionally ordered to forfeit roughly $12.3 million and a major amount of crypto and pay over $5 million in restitution to the unnamed crypto trade and Nirvana.
The hacks
In 2022, Ahmed hacked the sensible contracts of two decentralized crypto exchanges, together with Nirvana and an unnamed protocol, for a considerable quantity of a digital asset.
The DOJ stated Ahmed manipulated pricing knowledge on the unnamed platform to siphon roughly $9 million in inflated charges and withdrew the funds in crypto. Subsequently, Ahmed agreed to return round $7.5 million below the situation that the trade refrains from involving regulation enforcement.
Shortly after, Ahmed focused Nirvana Finance, stealing about $3.6 million. In response to the DOJ, Ahmed exploited Nirvana’s sensible contracts to buy crypto at decrease costs from the trade and offered it at increased costs.
Regardless of the trade providing a $600,000 bounty, Ahmed demanded $1.4 million, resulting in a stalemate and the retention of all stolen funds, culminating within the trade’s closure.
Subsequently, Ahmed laundered the stolen digital belongings utilizing subtle methods akin to token-swap transactions and superior crypto mixers like Samourai Whirlpool.
On the time of those thefts, Ahmed was a senior safety engineer for an unnamed worldwide know-how firm.
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