Heather Morgan has been released, accused of laundering $3.6 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) linked to the Bitfinex hack in 2016. Her husband’s request to be released on bail was denied.
Yesterday, a federal judge ordered the release of Heather Morgan, a couple accused of laundering billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin after the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Morgan’s husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, will remain in custody pending trial. The decision was made by Chief Justice Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Howell’s decision came after Morgan and Lichtenstein’s lawyers demanded that both parties be released on bail.
According to the couple’s lawyers, Morgan and Lichtenstein needed to be released on bail for four main reasons. The first is that neither party runs the risk of escaping. The couple’s lawyers also argue that the couple’s arrest would “unduly harm” their ability to defend themselves against the charges against them. Third, Morgan is in the process of recovering from breast surgery that took place on January 31, 2022. His lawyers argue that the medical problems involved would “reduce the risk of escape” and as a result his incarceration “posed a grave risk”.
Finally, the couple’s legal representative said that none of the individuals had a reason to flee “due to significant loopholes in the government’s case against them”.
Chief Justice Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia said that 34-year-old Ilya Lichtenstein, a Russian immigrant and technology investor, had a strong motivation to flee and may have resources that investigators overlooked. However, his wife, 31-year-old Heather Morgan, an entrepreneur and rapper known as Razzlekhan, was found to meet the criteria for probation.
Investigators told the judge they found no evidence that the couple was involved in the theft, but presented a wide network of accounts they said the couple was working to launder the funds.
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