Cybercrime and money laundering have once again come into the spotlight with the U.S. government sanctioning two cryptocurrency exchanges and unsealing an indictment against a Russian national for allegedly operating several money laundering services catering to cybercriminals.
The virtual currency exchanges in question, Cryptex and PM2BTC, are accused of facilitating the laundering of cryptocurrencies likely obtained through cybercrime activities.
This coordinated effort was a result of collaboration between U.S. law enforcement agencies, the Netherlands Police, and the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) as part of Operation Endgame.
Following the crackdown, the websites associated with both exchanges have been taken down, and cryptocurrency worth €7 million ($7.8 million) has been seized.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith emphasized, “The United States and our international partners remain resolute in our commitment to prevent cybercrime facilitators like PM2BTC and Cryptex from operating with impunity.”
Focusing on the specifics, PM2BTC has been linked to money laundering related to ransomware and other illicit activities in Russia since 2014, while Cryptex is accused of facilitating virtual currency services for cybercriminals, collecting over $51.2 million in illicit proceeds from ransomware attacks.
The indictment targets a 44-year-old Russian national, Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov (aka UAPS or TALEON), who has been operating as a professional cyber money launderer for nearly two decades, providing services to e-crime groups and drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, Timur Shakhmametov, 38, has been charged with running Joker’s Stash, a notorious carding marketplace implicated in selling data from millions of payment cards annually, generating profits in the range of $280 million to over $1 billion.
In addition to the legal actions, the U.S. Department of State has put up rewards of up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrests of Timur Shakhmametov and Sergey Ivanov, with an extra $1 million bounty for identifying other key members associated with the illicit operations.
Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, highlighted that UAPS and Cryptex have collectively processed over $7.5 billion in transactions since their inception, underscoring the scale of their illicit financial activities.
Elliptic, another blockchain intelligence firm, has identified numerous addresses connected to the sanctioned entities, emphasizing the need to disrupt the infrastructure enabling money laundering and transnational cybercrime.
Overall, the crackdown on these cybercrime facilitators showcases the ongoing efforts to make the internet a safer place by dismantling fraudulent services and the networks that support them.
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