Jimbos Protocol has contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to reclaim the funds that were stolen via a flash loan exploit on the 28th of May.
The protocol had offered the hacker a bounty which the latter chose to ignore.
With the hacker ignoring the bounty offer, the Arbitrum-based Jimbos protocol has revealed that it has contacted law enforcement and has opened a case with the New York Branch of the Department of Homeland Security to arrest the hacker. Jimbos Protocol was hacked on the 28th of May and saw 4000 ETH (roughly $7.5 million) stolen via a flash loan exploit. The team behind the protocol also noted that the Department of Homeland Security had arrested several other exploiters in the past and that it believed they would be able to arrest the protocol’s hacker as well.
According to reports, the Department of Homeland Security has worked on several crypto cases, such as 2013’s Mt. Gox seizures and the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attacks.
The Jimbos Protocol team took to Twitter to address the hacker, stating,
“They’re behind finding and arresting many of these exploiters. We don’t think this case will be an exception to the rule. To the attacker: We warned you. We’d prefer to give you the bounty so we can focus on our protocol. Instead, we will deal with law enforcement to find you.”
The protocol also revealed that the hacker ignored the bounty offer, stating,
” We’ve spoken about our bounty before, 10% of stolen funds (~$800k USD). We’ve given the hacker time to comply for the bounty, but evidently, they’re not interested.”
Bounty Offered To General PublicThe Jimbos Protocol has now offered the bounty to the general public instead. This means any user or community member that provides any information that could lead to the hacker’s arrest or recovery of funds would receive the reward. The protocol team had previously stated that they had found several promising leads regarding the hacker but did not wish to harm anyone’s reputation by making assertions before verifying all the facts.
“In order to speed up the investigation and return of funds, we’re offering the 10% bounty (~$800K USD) to the general public. Anyone who provides information that leads to: 1) catching the exploiter, or 2) all funds being returned, is eligible for the reward.”
However, the protocol also left the door open for the hacker to return the funds, stating that they were willing to give the hacker the opportunity to return the funds right until they are arrested, at which point the offer will no longer be on the table.
“The door remains open for the hacker to return the funds until they are arrested, at which point the offer will be rescinded. Because then, we will be getting 100% of the funds back, and they will go to prison.”
The Jimbos Protocol also added that it would soon publish an analysis of the hack. It also revealed that it would be publishing a plan for a future version of the protocol, which would include a recovery plan for users impacted by the attack.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
