Although specific laws for cryptocurrency have not yet entered our lives, U.S. officials continue to strive within the framework of existing laws. Theft is a crime in any field, and there’s no need for separate rules for crypto. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Justice punishes scammers and hackers, even when the crime is committed within the realm of crypto. The latest case also represents a first.
U.S. Department of Justice on Crypto
Today, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentencing of a former security engineer named Shakeeb Ahmed. This is a first because the U.S. has, for the first time, issued a conviction for a smart contract hacking incident. In July 2022, Ahmed hacked Nirvana Finance and exploited two different protocols.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the following;
“Five months ago, my Office announced the first arrest involving an attack on a smart contract. Today, senior security engineer Shakeeb Ahmed has admitted his guilt and will return all the stolen cryptocurrency to the victims. This arrest marks the first sentence given for such an attack. Ahmed’s confession also concluded with the acknowledgment of a second multi-million dollar hack that was previously unresolved, this time of the decentralized finance protocol Nirvana Finance. Ahmed used his technical knowledge to steal more than 12 million dollars and traded the stolen crypto for Monero, sending it to crypto mixers. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that no matter how sophisticated the methods used are, fraud is fraud, and we will swiftly catch and convict you.”
