Two Israeli brothers, Eli and Asaf Gigi broke into Bitfinex, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, and stole $100 million from virtual accounts holding bitcoins, the financial daily Globes reported this week.
The brothers were arrested by the Israel Police cyber unit on suspicion of committing phishing fraud on an international scale.
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The Bitfinex exchange, owned and operated by Hong Kong-based iFinex Inc., is one of the largest such exchanges in the world. In June 2016, Bitfinex reported that hackers had stolen bitcoins valued at $65 million. The current investigation concerns a much higher sum, amounting, as stated, to $100 million.
The Gigi brothers were arrested last Wednesday and were brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court earlier this week, where Judge Guy Avnon extended their remand in custody for a further seven days.
Avnon said both brothers represented "an economic threat" justifying their continued remand.
