The US Department of Justice (DOJ) took into custody and accused the creators of Samourai wallet of money laundering. They claim that these individuals were running a cryptocurrency tumbler as a service.
On Wednesday, the founders of Samourai Wallet, specifically its CEO, Keonne Rodriguez, and CTO, William Lonergan Hill, were taken into police custody.
DOJ Arrests Samourai Wallet FoundersÂ
Federal prosecutors have accused the Samourai wallet founders of conspiring to facilitate money laundering. The U.S. government is cracking down on crypto mixing tools, which can allegedly be used by foreign governments and criminal elements to conceal and transfer illicit funds. The Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York brought these charges after conducting a comprehensive investigation into the founders’ actions.
“Breaking News: The founders and CEO of Samourai Wallet, a well-known Bitcoin mixing service, have been taken into custody by the US Department of Justice on charges of money laundering.”
Based on a Department of Justice press release announced on Wednesday, Rodriguez and Hill are accused of creating, promoting, and managing a mixer that enabled more than $100 million worth of money laundering deals with illicit dark web markets and individuals. Additionally, the Samourai wallet was used for approximately $2 billion in unlawful transactions from 2015 up to the present day.
Samourai Wallet Closed For BusinessÂ
The Department of Justice alleges that the primary usage of this digital wallet was for transactions on the dark web and attempts to swindle decentralized finance systems. Both founders are accused of creating, advertising, and managing a bitcoin and cryptocurrency blender, allowing criminals to launder large amounts of money anonymously. As expressed by IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso:
Approximately $2 billion worth of transactions occurred between the involved parties and an unauthorized money transfer service, bypassing regulatory supervision entirely. Reportedly, Samourai Wallet is accused of handling over $100 million in ill-gotten gains as part of this company’s disregard for legal guidelines.
A Coordinated EffortÂ
With the combined forces of various law enforcement teams, Rodriguez was apprehended in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and Hill was captured in Portugal. The authorities plan to bring Hill back to the US for trial. Through cooperation with Icelandic authorities, Samourai’s web servers and domain were confiscated. Additionally, a warrant has been issued to seize the Samourai wallet mobile application from the Google Play Store.
Agents from the IRS’s Cybercrimes Units in New York and Los Angeles collaborated with domestic and international law enforcement teams to apprehend the leaders and CEO of Samourai Wallet, as well as confiscate their domain. As a result, Samourai Wallet has been shut down.
Due to this action, the wallet could no longer be obtained for download in the USA. FBI Assistant Director James Smith announced,
Criminal hackers use technology to hide their activities from law enforcement and create safe spaces for illegal transactions. For nearly a decade, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill are accused of running a mobile platform for mixing cryptocurrencies, which served as a secret base for over $2 billion in illicit financial exchanges and $100 million in money laundering on the dark web. The FBI is determined to uncover hidden financial schemes and bring those who use technology to commit financial crimes to justice.
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2024-04-25 12:11