Hackers linked to $14M Holograph crypto heist arrested in Italy

Suspected hackers behind the heist of $14,000,000 worth of cryptocurrency from blockchain tech firm Holograph was arrested in Italy after living a lavish lifestyle for weeks in the country.

As announced over the weekend by Italy's national police force (Polizia di Stato), four individuals suspected of cybercrime and money laundering have been living in a luxury villa in Salerno.

Holograph is a Cayman Islands-based cryptocurrency exchange and web3 platform that facilitates interoperability across blockchain ecosystems.

On June 13, 2024, the platform announced that malicious actors exploited a smart contract flaw that allowed them to arbitrarily mint 1 billion HLG, Holograph's own token, and withdraw the amount in nine transactions.

At the time, the tokens were valued at $14 million, but mere hours after the incident, their value plummeted by over 80%. 

Holograph previously confirmed that the hack was carried out by a former technical contractor and developer with internal knowledge of the protocol's functionality.

Arrests and seizures

Law enforcement, cooperating with the French National Police, tracked the group of suspected cybercriminals for several weeks, observing their lavish lifestyle in Italy.

European arrest warrants led to the arrest of two of the four individuals, who are now in the Salerno prison and await their extradition to France. The other two were investigated but remain free for now.

The police operation also seized cryptocurrency wallet private keys, codes, ledger keys, and various electronic devices found in the possession of the cybercriminals, which are to be examined for evidence aiding the investigations.

Presumably, at least the remainder of the stolen funds will be returned to Holograph now that the authorities have access to the crypto wallets that hold the proceeds.

Following the news of the arrests, HLG price has rebounded by 28.3% in the last 24 hours and 59.4% over the past week. However, its current value is still much lower than pre-hack levels.