The US government charged two individuals with operating a multi-billion-dollar money laundering scheme. Law enforcement agencies disrupted global cybercriminal operations and seized websites associated with illegal crypto exchange activities.
The US Department of Justice, alongside international partners, took down three cryptocurrency exchanges allegedly used to launder billions of dollars, particularly for ransomware operators, darknet drug traffickers, and other cybercriminals, DOJ announced.
Major Ransomware Operations
The two individuals of Russian nationality charged reportedly catered to criminals through their platforms, reportedly facilitating payments for stolen credit card data, ransomware profits, and fraud.
One of the individuals is accused of laundering over $1.15 billion through cryptocurrency transactions linked to criminal activities. The indictment reveals that 32% of all traced bitcoins tied to the individual originated from illicit sources such as ransomware and darknet drug markets.
The platform reportedly offered data from 40 million cards and was linked to the major breach of a US retailer in 2013, which cost the victim over $202 million in damages.
The DOJ, in collaboration with foreign partners, also seized several domain names linked to these illegal operations, including Cryptex.net. Cryptex was a cryptocurrency exchange designed to offer complete anonymity to its users, primarily targeting cybercriminals who sought to bypass know-your-customer regulations.
Blockchain analysis revealed that 31% of the $1.4 billion transacted through Cryptex came from illicit sources, including ransomware payments and fraud proceeds. By seizing these domains, US law enforcement effectively shut down these money laundering operations.
International Cooperation
Elsewhere, the Dutch authorities seized servers linked to the Cryptex exchange and confiscated $7 million worth of cryptocurrency. The coordinated effort also included law enforcement agencies from Germany, Latvia, the UK, and Europol, all of whom contributed to shutting down these illegal operations.
As part of broader efforts to bring the accused to justice, the US State Department announced reward offers of up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest of the individuals.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified PM2BTC, one of the laundering platforms, as a "primary money laundering concern" and sanctioned both Cryptex and the charged individual.
This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
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