UK Hacker Faces Million Dollar Bill

continues to see an increase in police enforcement as the latest breaking

[O’Connor previously admitted guilt in the United States for his role in the hack]( Joseph James O’Connor: British hacker who hijacked Elon Musk’s Twitter account told to repay £4m in Bitcoin | The Independent) in which high profile accounts including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian and other major brands and public figures were hijacked and used to solicit

What Happened

In July 2020 a coordinated social attack compromised more than 130 verified Twitter now known as X accounts. Using internal administrative tools with the hackers posting messages from those accounts urging followers to send Bitcoin with the promise of getting double in return.

While early reports list the stolen amount as about USD 794,000 at the time there was later a steep rise in the value of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies which has turned that amount into a much larger figure.

The CPS secured a civil recovery order of:

1. • 42.378 BTC
2. • 235.329 ETH
3. • 143,273.57 BUSD
4. • 15.23 USDC

These assets were traced to the scheme and are now valued at roughly £4.1 million.

Crypto’s Value Explosion

At the time of the hack the cryptocurrency amounts recovered had much lower valuations. Fast forward to 2025 with Bitcoin near USD 100,000 (vs. much lower in mid-2020) the remaining assets have appreciated substantially.

The profit and recovery calculus isn’t just about what was stolen it’s about what it’s worth now. This sets an important precedent for how criminal recovery in the crypto sphere may work going forward.

The CPS’s move to seize and liquidate these assets comes under the legal framework of civil recovery in UK legislation which allows authorities to target proceeds of crime (or assets derived from crime) even without a criminal conviction in the UK.

As Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division stated “We were able to use the full force of the powers available to us to ensure that even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality.”

In O’Connor’s case although he was convicted in the U.S the UK application of civil recovery enables UK authorities to ensure the assets linked to criminality are retrieved, liquidated and returned to the public purse (or victims).

It’s great to see law enforcement from around the world now focusing on cyber crimes involving cryptocurrency as it not only helps keeps people funds safe but ensures victims are able to claim their funds back.

image sources provided supplemented by Canva Pro subscription. This is not financial advice and readers are advised to undertake their own research or seek professional financial services.

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