Just as the U.S. Congress lawmakers are working on impeachment proceedings on U.S. President Donald Trump, there’s a sensational revelation coming about last week’s riots that took place in the U.S. Capitol. As per an exclusive Yahoo News report, right-wing activists received payments in Bitcoin (BTC) a month before from foreign accounts. FBI’s retired assistant director Frank Figliuzzi himself went on sharing this report on his Twitter timeline.
Exclusive: Large bitcoin payments to right-wing activists a month before Capitol riot linked to foreign account #Insurrection #Impeachment https://t.co/FG1grDTAc6
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) January 15, 2021
Nearly half-a-million-dollar ($500,000) in Bitcoin (BTC) payments were made to 22 different virtual wallets belong to far-right activists and influencers. All this has reportedly happened a month before the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Crypto researchers claim that they have identified who made the transfer and the U.S. law enforcement is currently investigating this matter.
In a blog post on Thursday, January 14, cryptocurrency compliance partner Chainalysis reported that a French Donor had sent around 28.15 BTC a month before on December 8. In its report, Chainalysis names internet personality Nick Fuentes for being instrumental in getting this money. The report states:
“We now have evidence that many alt-right groups and personalities, including Fuentes, received large Bitcoin donations in a single transaction that occurred a month before the riot on December 8. We have also gathered evidence that strongly suggests the donor was a now-deceased computer programmer based in France”.
Chainalysis also presented a detailed breakdown of who and which group received the Bitcoin donations. Fuentes reportedly received half the amount i.e. $250,000 in BTC payments.
Earlier this week during a press conference, acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said:
The “scope and scale of this investigation in these cases are really unprecedented”. He also added that prosecutors are treating it as a matter of “significant counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation” involving deeper dives into “money, travel records, disposition, movement, communication records.”
More details regarding the same would be available hopefully in days to come as law enforcement agencies look into the matter. Maddie Kennedy, Chainalysis’s communications director said that cryptocurrencies were designed to be transparent and with the right tools they have identified the money trail. She specifically added that these donations have an “international scope” and must be investigated.
