UK Twitter hacker who breached Obama’s account ordered to repay $5.4 million in Bitcoin

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LONDON (Reuters) -A man convicted over a 2020 Twitter hack that compromised accounts of high-profile figures including former U.S. President Barack Obama has been ordered to repay 4.1 million pounds ($5.40 million) worth of Bitcoin, British prosecutors said on Monday.

Joseph James O’Connor, 26, pleaded guilty in the United States to charges including computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2023.

He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited after the country’s High Court ruled the U.S. was best placed to prosecute because the evidence and victims were there.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service on Monday said it had obtained a civil recovery order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the scam, which involved using hijacked accounts to solicit digital currency and threaten celebrities.

“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,” prosecutor Adrian Foster said in a statement.

The order, made last week, follows a property freezing order secured during extradition proceedings. The assets will be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee, prosecutors said.

The July 2020 attack compromised accounts of then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former President Obama, and others including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Kim Kardashian, prompting Twitter, now called X, to temporarily restrict verified accounts.

($1 = 0.7596 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sarah Young)