French authorities have arrested multiple suspects in connection with the devastating June 13 hack of the Holograph protocol, an Omnichain tokenization platform co-founded by Jeremy Kerbel.
According to a recent announcement on X, the arrests followed a rigorous two-month investigation that involved a coordinated effort among international law enforcement agencies, working together to bring the criminals to justice. Led by France’s Office for the Prevention of Cybercrime (OFAC), the joint action involved the Brigade de Répression du Banditisme (BRI), Europol, the Italian Directorate of Anti-Mafia Investigations, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS).
These agencies worked in tandem to track down the individuals responsible for the Holograph hack, which resulted in the loss of $14.4 million worth of the platform’s native token, HLG. The thieves exploited a vulnerability in the protocol’s operator contract to mint 1 billion HLG tokens using a proxy wallet. These tokens, valued at nearly $15 million at the time, were fraudulently created, destabilizing the market.
The exploit caused the value of HLG tokens to plummet by nearly 80% within nine hours, dropping from $0.014 to a low of $0.0029.
No Hiding Place
Despite their initial success in hacking the platform, the criminals have run out of luck. According to the announcement, they were apprehended in Italy by French authorities and their international partners. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized significant assets and electronic devices belonging to the suspects. These seizures are expected to provide further evidence as the investigation continues. Following their arrest, the suspects are expected to be extradited to France, where they will face charges related to the hack.
Holograph disclosed that French authorities are already preparing to prosecute the individuals, aiming to deliver justice and send a clear message to others considering similar cybercrimes. However, due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, authorities have chosen not to reveal the identities of the suspects to the public. This decision is intended to protect the integrity of the case and ensure that further investigative efforts are not compromised.
An Inside Job Attack?
Despite the non-disclosure of the suspects’ identities, members of the crypto community had already speculated that the attack was an inside job.
After the June 13 incident, Holograph discovered that the attack was orchestrated by a “disgruntled former contractor”, confirming the speculation. This revelation came from Halborn, a blockchain investigation firm known for its expertise in cybersecurity, which Holograph had contacted to help investigate the incident. The company released a detailed post-mortem report on July 2, revealing that the hack was carried out by someone with deep knowledge of the protocol’s operations.
next