New York couple charged with conspiring to launder crypto billions

A New York couple was arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to launder billions of dollars' worth of stolen bitcoin, resulting in the seizure of $3.6 billion in  cryptocurrency, the Justice Department announced, the largest financial seizure in the department's history.  

Russian national Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31,  are accused of attempting to launder the proceeds of almost 120,000 bitcoin that were stolen in a 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a platform where cryptocurrency including bitcoin is exchanged. At the time of the hack, the complaint says the bitcoin were worth $71 million, but the price of bitcoin has exploded since then.

They are not charged with carrying out the hack.