WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2022) � Dual US and Russian citizen Ilya Lichtenstein and wife Heather Morgan should be detained prior to further legal proceedings against them on charges of engaging in a $4.5 billion cryptocurrency scheme because of a significant flight risk, the prosecutors said in court documents filed on Thursday.
The US authorities arrested Lichtenstein and Morgan on Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from a hack of the virtual Currency platform Bitfinex in 2016.
"(N)o condition or combination of conditions can reliably ensure the appearance of such sophisticated defendants with the means to flee and ample incentive to do so," the court filing said.
The prosecutors in the case argued that Lichtenstein and Morgan could escape prosecution indefinitely if they managed to flee to Russia. Files from Lichtenstein's cloud storage account indicate that he has access to Russian financial accounts and identity documents for both male and female persons, the court filing also said.
Although authorities seized 94,000 bitcoin, valued at more than $3.6 billion, a� review of the couple's devices will likely reveal additional cryptocurrency wallets contained within secure folders, the court filing added.
Lawyers representing Lichtenstein and Morgan on Wednesday filed documents in support of the request that the couple be released on bail.
"The government has not argued, and could not credibly argue, that the release of Ms. Morgan and Mr. Lichtenstein subject to home incarceration and the other stringent bail conditions set by Judge Freeman would pose any danger to the community," lawyer Samson Enzer said in the filing.
A US Federal court initially granted Lichtenstein and Morgan bail on bonds totaling $8 million, but the decision was halted by Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, who ordered a review of the detention order.
Howell on Thursday also ordered that Lichtenstein and Morgan be transported from New York to Washington, DC for further legal proceedings. A hearing on the case has been scheduled for February 14 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
