In summary
- The US Department of Justice has seized domains linked to three Cryptocurrency exchanges accused of facilitating more than $800 million in illicit transactions as part of an operation against Russian money laundering operations.
- The DOJ accused Russian Sergey Ivanov, known as “Taleon,” of operating several money laundering services that catered to cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and darknet drug traffickers.
- Ivanov allegedly operated cryptocurrency exchanges such as UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC, which processed approximately $1.15 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, of which 32% were linked to criminal activities.
The US Department of Justice said on Thursday it seized domains linked to three cryptocurrency exchanges accused of facilitating more than $800 million in illicit transactions as part of a coordinated operation against Russian money laundering operations.
The DOJ, working with the Treasury Department, the Secret Service and international law enforcement partners, revealed an indictment against Russian Sergey Ivanov, according to a statement.
Ivanov, also known as “Taleon,” is accused of operating several money laundering services that catered to cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and darknet drug traffickers.
US authorities also charged Russian Timur Shakhmametov, or “JokerStash”, with running Joker’s Stash, one of the largest carding websites in history, which sold stolen payment card data.
Ivanov allegedly operated cryptocurrency exchanges such as UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC, which processed approximately $1.15 billion in cryptocurrency transactions.
Blockchain analysis by authorities revealed that 32% of Bitcoin handled by exchanges was linked to criminal activity, including more than $158 million in fraud and more than $8.8 million in ransomware payments.
In conjunction with the US actions, Dutch authorities seized servers hosting PM2BTC and Cryptex, recovering more than $7 million in cryptocurrency, the Justice Department alleged.
Cryptex, another cryptocurrency exchange linked to money laundering, facilitated transactions worth $1.4 billion, of which 31% were related to criminal conduct, according to the indictment.
The US Secret Service obtained judicial authorization to seize the domains of UAPS, PM2BTC and Cryptex. Visitors to the sites now see a government notice indicating the seizures.
“Today’s actions highlight the Department’s continued disruption of malicious cyber actors and their criminal ecosystem,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the statement. “The two Russian citizens charged today allegedly pocketed millions of dollars from prolific money laundering.”
Ivanov is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aiding and abetting bank fraud for providing payment processing services to the carding website Rescator. He is also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for handling proceeds from Joker’s Stash.
The US Treasury also sanctioned Ivanov and Cryptex, while the State Department offered rewards of up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest of those involved.
Editor’s note: Updates the total amount allegedly transferred illicitly through the exchanges.
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