The U.S. government has obtained a court order to seize domains associated with three cryptocurrency exchanges allegedly facilitating illegal crypto transactions. This is part of a coordinated operation to crack down on Russian money laundering schemes.
In an official statement on Thursday (September 26, 2024), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against two Russian nationals involved in running a money laundering service for cybercriminals. The operation also involved seizing the websites of three illegal crypto exchanges.
This seizure was the result of collaboration between the DOJ, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and both U.S. and international law enforcement partners
Two Russian Nationals Charged
According to court documents, the DOJ accused Sergey Ivanov, a Russian national known as “Taleon,” of running various money laundering services for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and dark web drug dealers.
U.S. authorities allege that Ivanov created and operated Russian payment and exchange services like UAPS and PM2BTC, processing approximately $1.15 billion in digital asset transactions for laundering purposes between July 2013 and August 2024.
U.S. authorities revealed through blockchain analysis that these exchanges processed 32% of Bitcoin linked to criminal activities, including over $158 million from fraud and more than $8.8 million from ransomware transactions.
The DOJ indicted Timur Shakhmametov, a Russian national known as “JokerStash,” accusing him of operating Joker’s Stash, one of the largest stolen card websites in history that sold stolen payment card data.
Joker’s Stash traded data from around 40 million payment cards annually, with the total number of cards reaching hundreds of million. Authorities estimate the profits from this illegal activity range between $280 million and over $1 billion.
In a related action, the DOJ reported that Dutch authorities seized the servers hosting the PM2BTC and Cryptex websites and secured over $7 million in cryptocurrency. Cryptex, another crypto exchange involved in money laundering, allegedly facilitated $1.4 billion worth of transactions, with 31% tied to criminal activity.
Authorities have fully seized the domains UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex, and visitors to these sites now see a government notice regarding the seizure.
Authorities charged Ivanov and Shakhmametov with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The DOJ has also sanctioned Ivanov and Cryptex, while the U.S. Department of State is offering up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest of those involved.
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