As a researcher who has spent years investigating cybercrime and its intricate connections to illicit activities, I find this operation by the US Department of Justice to be a significant step towards dismantling the underground economy of digital crime. The takedown of these three crypto exchanges – UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex – and the indictment of key players such as Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov, is a clear demonstration that no one is immune to the long arm of the law, not even in the seemingly anonymous world of cryptocurrency.
According to reports, the United States Department of Justice confiscated websites connected to three cryptocurrency platforms suspected of aiding over $800 million in illegal transactions associated with Russian money laundering schemes.
The American legal system granted approval for the takeover of the websites UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex by authorities. Visitors to these sites will encounter a message from the government stating that the site is under seizure because of alleged illegal activities.
On September 26, it was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice that they accused two individuals from Russia of illegally amassing large sums through a money laundering operation, which relied on a global network of cybercriminals.
Based on recently-unveiled court records, the Department of Justice alleges that a Russian individual named Sergey Ivanov, also recognized by the nickname “Taleon,” has been running numerous money laundering operations for cybercriminals. These illicit activities are believed to encompass ransomware gangs and drug trafficking networks operating on the darknet.
Reportedly, Ivanov is said to have established and managed payment and exchange platforms such as UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC. Over a period spanning from July 2013 to August 2024, it’s claimed that these services facilitated approximately $1.15 billion worth of digital asset transactions suspected to be related to money laundering activities.
It was discovered that Cryptex, another cryptocurrency exchange under suspicion for money laundering activities, processed transactions totaling approximately $1.4 billion. A significant portion of these transactions, around 31%, are connected to illicit or criminal activities.
The US authorities seized the domains “Cryptex.net” and “Cryptex.one”. These sites were reported to offer anonymity to its users, allowing them to register for accounts without providing know-your-customer compliance requirements.
Similar to UAPS and PM2BTC, Cryptex was advertised directly to cybercriminals.
In collaboration with our Dutch counterparts, we successfully closed a criminal cryptocurrency exchange known as Cryptex, and managed to seize a significant amount of cryptocurrencies worth millions of dollars,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Russian citizen Timur Shakhmametov was similarly charged with managing Joker’s Stash, a notorious carding site recognized as one of the biggest in history, offering illicitly obtained credit and debit card data. Similar to Ivanov, Shakhmametov is said to have advertised the services of Joker’s Stash and its stolen payment card details across numerous underground cybercrime platforms.
The blockchain analysis of cryptocurrencies indicated that about 32% of the traced Bitcoins handled by these exchanges were linked to illegal activities. This amounted to over $158 million in Bitcoin involved in fraud, with around $8.8 million used for ransomware transactions and approximately $4.7 million stemming from darknet drug marketplaces.
Alongside the Department of Justice, the U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on both Ivanov and Cryptex. Simultaneously, the State Department has announced a $11 million reward for any information that could lead to the apprehension of individuals associated with either Ivanov or Joker’s Stash operations.
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2024-09-27 10:06