Investigator Names French Bank as Victim of Crypto Theft

Onchain investigator ZachXBT has identified French banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa as the alleged victim of a cryptocurrency theft exceeding $133 million. The attack took place over several days and involved the withdrawal of USDC and USDT funds from various exchanges.

The bank confirmed it suffered a cyberattack detected by its own internal teams. The financial institution temporarily suspended some transactions to ensure the security of operations and prevent further fraudulent activity.

ZachXBT claims that the lack of transparency regarding the incident allowed more than $30 million to be laundered. The investigator suspects the total amount stolen could be even higher when considering over-the-counter activities.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa assured that none of its clients will suffer financial losses from the episode. The institution holds $235 billion in assets and was seeking to expand its presence in the digital asset market under European Union regulations.

The attacker used instant exchanges and converted part of the funds into the privacy coin Monero after the theft. The perpetrator remains officially unidentified, although the investigator ruled out the involvement of the North Korean Lazarus group.