Why would the corrupt SOB that hatched this plan want to return any of it?
SDNY handling the Sam Bankman Fried prosecution is all you need to know. You’ll recall LA prosecutors arrested Konnech’s CEO Eugene Yu for data sent to Chinese servers and everyone was excited. Then, just as quickly, they released him and dropped the charges.
Look for SDNY to soil the evidence, the prosecution or both.
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135839608/los-angeles-county-dropped-charges-konnech-true-the-vote