Wire reporting: (AP, via CBS News)

The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday it obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency reported stolen from Binance last month^1,2,3.

The theft from the cryptocurrency exchange has been described by U.S. officials as the largest crypto heist on record, with about $6.3 billion taken, according to Associated Press reporting carried by CBS News and CityNews Toronto^1,3. CNBC put the stolen amount at more than $6 billion and dated the attack to Oct. 29².

The FBI has attributed the Binance attack to a North Korean group it calls TraderTraitor, described in CNBC's account as actors linked to the North Korean military^1,2,3. The department said it was acting against what it called North Korean schemes to fund the regime through cryptocurrency theft².

U.S. government and private-sector efforts have frozen more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, the outlets reported^1,2,3. The $1.2 billion figure is the portion the Justice Department said a court has now authorized it to seize or restrain^1,2. CNBC reported that tracking continues because the stolen assets are still being moved through cryptocurrency channels².

Typically after such seizures, the government files a forfeiture claim and a judge decides who has a legitimate claim to the recovered funds, according to the AP accounts^1,3.

The same day, officials also described a separate campaign they call FaceStealer, which they said stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over about 18 months^1,2,3. CNBC reported that authorities seized cloud infrastructure used in that scheme, which it said uses hijacked accounts, AI-generated deepfake video meetings and malware to take over victims' communications, with people in crypto and web3 among the main targets².

U.S. officials have long accused North Korea of using cyber operations to raise money for the state, including its weapons programs^1,3. What share of the frozen funds will ultimately be returned to Binance or other claimants, and how much of the remaining stolen crypto can still be recovered, was not settled in Thursday's announcements^1,2,3.