DOJ Seizes Illicit Crypto Exchanges in Charging of Two Russians With $1,000,000,000 Money Laundering Operation

The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) has labored with different federal and worldwide legislation enforcement businesses to cost two Russian nationals with a number of cybercrimes, together with operating unlawful crypto exchanges.

In a brand new press launch, the DOJ says it’s charging Russian nationals Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov with crimes starting from facilitating stolen credit score and debit card transactions to prison cash laundering utilizing cryptocurrency.

“Ivanov allegedly based and/or operated the Russian cost and alternate providers UAPS, PinPays and PM2BTC, which supplied cash switch and cash laundering providers on to criminals. Evaluation of the cryptocurrency blockchain revealed that between July 12, 2013 and August 10, cryptocurrency addresses linked to Ivanov’s alleged cash laundering providers performed transactions totaling roughly $1.15 billion.

About 32% of all traced Bitcoin despatched to those addresses got here from different cryptocurrency addresses linked to prison exercise. For instance, greater than $158 million value of Bitcoin flowing to Ivanov’s addresses reportedly got here from fraud proceeds, greater than $8.8 million represented proceeds from identified ransomware funds, and roughly $4.7 million {dollars} come from drug markets on the darknet.

The U.S. Secret Service has acquired court docket permission to grab domains related to the UAPS and PM2BTC web sites.”

Along with the aforementioned seizures, the Secret Service additionally shut down Cryptex, a Russia-based cryptocurrency laundering service that marketed its providers to criminals.

Stated Deputy Assistant Legal professional Normal Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Division’s prison division,

“Cryptex promised its cybercriminal prospects a protected place to launder their unlawful proceeds anonymously. However the coordinated actions introduced immediately – together with the seizure of Cryptex’s domains, servers and proceeds – ought to put cybercriminals on discover that there aren’t any protected locations for cybercriminals on-line. The Prison Division will proceed to work with its home and worldwide partnerships to disrupt platforms that allow cybercrime and render these platforms unprofitable.”

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Featured picture: Shutterstock/Pavel Chagochkin/WindAwake