Japan raids offices of currency exchange hit by digital heist

TOKYO - Japan's financial regulator on Friday swooped on Coincheck Inc with surprise checks of its systems and said it had asked the Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange to fix flaws in its computer networks well before hackers stole $530 million of digital money last week.

Security gaps in Coincheck's systems were among the reasons the exchange had not been given official approval to operate, the Financial Services Agency said. Coincheck had been allowed by the regulator to operate pending registration.

The comments came after 10 FSA officials conducted surprise checks on Coincheck's office on Friday morning, as authorities stepped up efforts to pin down how hackers pulled off one of the world's biggest cyber heists.