Amazon MGM Studios has reportedly started developing a movie based on the couple who laundered billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) connected to the 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.
According to a Jan. 26 report from Deadline, the Amazon production studio is planning the development of Razzlekhan, a film focusing on the actions of Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan and their role in laundering funds from Bitfinex. The script will reportedly be inspired by a 2022 New York Times article on the couple, branding them as “Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde.”
Razzle dazzle, baby!! This is a crazy one https://t.co/r34GmmCRB2
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) January 26, 2024
Following the hack of Bitfinex in August 2016, in which roughly 119,754 BTC was stolen, Lichtenstein and Morgan laundered more than 94,643 BTC of the funds “in a series of small, complex transactions across multiple accounts and platforms,” according to prosecutors. Authorities in the United States arrested the couple in February 2022. They seized the Bitcoin, which was worth roughly $54 million at the time of the hack but more than $3 billion at their arrest.
In August 2023, as part of a deal with prosecutors, Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Morgan pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Razzlekhan, the proposed title of the movie, was Morgan’s moniker as an “irreverent comedic rapper.”
Related: Crypto documentary ‘Bull Run’ takes on Bitcoin, tokenization and trading addiction
Though the Lichtenstein and Morgan film appears to be a dramatic take on the couple’s life, many other studios have opted to cover figures in the crypto space through documentaries.
Following the collapse of FTX and the arrest of former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried in 2022, there were rumors of a documentary on the relationship between SBF and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Netflix also released a documentary in 2022 on the life and death of QuadrigaCX founder Gerald Cotten, who left users cut off from millions of dollars worth of crypto.
Magazine: Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback?
