A Japanese man has been questioned in connection with last month’s massive theft of digital tokens from cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc., a source close to the investigation said.
The police learned that the man converted a small amount of the missing NEM coins into another form of cryptocurrency called litecoin through a site on the darknet, which can only be accessed through special anonymity software, the source said Saturday. The man was aware the NEM had been stolen from Coincheck.
About ¥58 billion ($533 million) worth of NEM was stolen on Jan. 26, with more than ¥500 million worth of it likely to have since been converted into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to data security experts.
The NEM was split up and dispersed to several digital addresses.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s cybercrime division, which questioned the man on a voluntary basis, suspects several people were involved in converting the stolen NEM and is monitoring darknet sites and NEM transactions to identify them, the source said.
Following the massive theft of the digital money, data security specialists found an account believed to have been used by one of the perpetrators to trade the stolen NEM on the darknet.
Their analysis of money transfers from the account showed that NEM cryptocurrency worth more than ¥500 million was withdrawn on more than 200 occasions between early Thursday and Friday evening, based on the exchange rate at the time of the hacking attack.
Based on the current exchange rate, the converted currency is worth over ¥300 million, they said.
Immigration Bureau's relaxed visa policy has boosted tourism from southeast Asia, but it seems to have come with an unwanted side-effect. (soranews24.com)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not saying whether or not he nominated Donald Trump for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but the question may be moot: the U.S. president has been put forward by others for the prestigious award. (Japan Today)
Police on Monday arrested a truck driver for allegedly driving off with a man clinging to the side of his vehicle following a road rage incident in Miyagi Prefecture last June. (Japan Times)
The health ministry on Monday approved the world's first clinical test in which artificially derived stem cells will be used to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. (Japan Times)
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 41-year-old man who while drunk is suspected of gashing more than one dozen luxury automobiles in Ota Ward last month, reports Nippon News Network (tokyoreporter.com)
Ibaraki Prefectural Police believe a male temporary employee at a research center for industrial machinery manufacturer Kubota Corp. stabbed another employee before slashing himself on Sunday, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)
A movie by the Japanese director Hikari picked up two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday. "37 Seconds" won the Panorama Audience Award and the CICAE Art Cinema Award.
(NHK)
A 43-year-old employee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has been arrested for allegedly using his smartphone to film up the skirt of a high school girl on a train. (Japan Today)