Did bitcoin exchange shutdown trigger U.S. probe?

NEW YORK — The office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are probing possible criminal violations tied to the shutdown of Tokyobased Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest exchange for digital currency transactions, two people familiar with the matter said.

The shuttering of Mt. Gox comes after months in which the currency’s price soared and it attracted increased attention from investors and customers, as well as scrutiny from U.S. regulators over possible money-laundering and fraud.

Bharara’s office has requested documents from businesses that provide Bitcoin services and the FBI is reviewing the matter, said the people, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public.

One of the people said that the matter is in its preliminary stages and isn’t yet a formal investigation.

Reports that hackers may have pilfered more than $390 million in bitcoin from Mt. Gox prompted companies from San Francisco to London as well as their industry group, the Bitcoin Foundation, to assure bitcoin users that their funds won’t disappear due to theft or mismanagement.

Jennifer Queliz, a spokeswoman for Bharara, would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.

— GETTY IMAGES FILES U.S. officials are said to be looking into the closing of Mt. Gox, the major exchange for bitcoins, which were available from special bitcoin ATMs like this one in Barcelona.