Brazil Central Bank hacking group launders at least $40 million via crypto assets

A service provider for the Banco Central do Brasil was hacked, resulting in the theft of a total of $140 million (approximately ₩190 billion).

According to CoinDesk, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrency), on the 4th (local time), hackers laundered up to $40 million of this amount using crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).

It was found that the funds were particularly moved through OTC desks and crypto exchanges in the Latin America region.

This incident occurred on June 30, when an employee of the Banco Central do Brasil’s service provider C&M Software allegedly provided internal access information to the hackers.

As a result, unauthorized access was made to Banco Central do Brasil accounts of six financial institutions, including BMP.

According to security firm CertiK, damages suffered by global crypto investors due to hacking and fraud in the first half of this year are said to have reached about $2.5 billion.

Experts voiced concern, noting, "Cases of laundering crime proceeds from fiat currency through crypto assets are on the rise," and "this incident clearly exposes the security issues and regulatory gaps in the crypto asset market."