Crypto▼ Bearish
Bybit Sues North Korea's Lazarus Group Over $1.5B Crypto Theft
Bybit filed a U.S. lawsuit against North Korea-linked Lazarus Group over a $1.5 billion crypto theft and secured an injunction to freeze stolen assets. The exchange has recovered $48.4 million so far.
Continue with
Bybit filed a civil lawsuit in Washington D.C. against North Korea and its Lazarus Group over a $1.5 billion crypto theft, the exchange said Friday. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction freezing identified stolen assets while the case proceeds.
The complaint, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau and the Lazarus Group as defendants. Bybit also named unknown individuals and entities that hold or moved the stolen cryptocurrency, identified as John Doe defendants. That approach is standard in cyber cases: on-chain activity can be traced, though the real-world identities of wallet controllers remain unclear.
The preliminary injunction bars transfers or depletion of identified stolen crypto during litigation. The court found Bybit had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, language that strengthens a plaintiff's ability to maintain asset freezes through discovery, the exchange said. A judge earlier described the incident in a temporary restraining order as "one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history," according to Bybit.
Bybit positioned the civil case as complementary to the ongoing criminal investigation led by the FBI and other agencies. The exchange said it has been sharing blockchain intelligence and investigative findings with law enforcement. Criminal probes can take years and prioritize attribution and prosecution. Civil proceedings provide another route to asset preservation, securing funds that might otherwise be laundered or dispersed across jurisdictions.
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, said the exchange's priorities remain unchanged: protecting users and recovering funds while holding responsible parties accountable. Zhou argued the alleged Lazarus operation was not merely an attack on Bybit but an assault on broader industry trust. The firm has worked closely with investigators, exchanges, regulators, law enforcement, and now the courts.