Quote from: DooMAD on July 30, 2017, 12:09:25 PM

Sorry to sound unsympathetic, but there's more likelihood of the DoJ prosecuting you for being financially involved than there is in you getting any of your bitcoins back. You may well be law-abiding, but that's not what they will naturally assume. The way they see it, your petition is basically saying "I've been helping fund this suspected criminal you just arrested and I'd like my money back, please". Roll Eyes

I'm not saying they were right to seize the funds or anything (Team America: World Police, etc). I thought this exchange was based in Bulgaria, just ever so slightly outside of US jurisdiction. But seriously... how likely do you think it is they're actually going to hand over the bitcoins? Not just because they aren't going to see it from your perspective, but also because they simply don't care. America isn't "the land of the free". It only counts as freedom when it suits them and I can assure you this particular matter of freedom doesn't even show on their radar. You have no rights here as far as they're concerned, which is awful, I know, but that's just how it is. You need to learn and accept that if you leave your funds in the control of an exchange, they can vanish at any point and you are more than likely to get nothing in return.

Rule #1 of Bitcoin is that if you don't have control over the private keys, you don't have control over your bitcoins.

Exactly this. Unfortunately for those who lost their bitcoins on this exchange, the chances of getting your money back is very slim. Perhaps if they find a flaw in the seizing of the funds but even that is quite far fetched and incredibly unlikely. Another lesson for people to never store your bitcoin on exchanges or online wallets.