The integrity of the Australian federal police is under scrutiny after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) accused Detective Sergeant William Wheatley of stealing a substantial amount of Bitcoin. During a drug raid, an officer allegedly transferred 81.62 Bitcoins valued at approximately $4.2 million from a Trezor hardware wallet to an unknown destination.

After the delayed court approval for wallet access, investigators found the wallet empty and traced the Bitcoin’s movement to Binance via an IP address linked to the former AFP headquarters. This surprising twist redirected the focus from a crime syndicate to Wheatley, who vehemently denies all allegations.

At the time of the alleged theft, the value of the stolen Bitcoins was around $309,000. However, the price surge has significantly increased the stakes, with the current value exceeding $4 million, intensifying the gravity of the charges against Wheatley.

The industry continues to battle security breaches, with over $3.7 billion stolen in 2022. Despite a decrease to $2 billion in thefts in 2023, the threat from cybercriminals and state-sponsored groups like North Korea’s Kimsuky and Lazarus remains high.

In response to the alarming $10 billion in losses due to crypto thefts, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has introduced on-chain solutions to combat illegal blockchain activities. The development of crypto-tracing tools has brought new levels of transparency and accountability, aiding in the identification of culprits behind illicit transactions.

Following a security breach in their support ticketing system, Trezor has alerted users of potential phishing attacks aiming to steal recovery seeds. Although 41 cases of data exposure have been reported, Trezor assures there’s no evidence of compromised digital assets thus far.