The U.S. Department of Justice began a slew of actions against Russian crypto crime groups on Thursday, Sept. 26, indicting two individuals and seizing various illicit exchange websites to disrupt a massive network of money laundering and sanctions evasion using digital assets.
The Department of Justice announced in a press release that it indicted two Russian nationals, Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov, on charges of running vast money laundering services for cybercrime actors. Authorities also seized domains linked to three Russian crypto exchanges.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco made remarks emphasizing how the department was committed to disrupting malicious cyber actors and their criminal ecosystems. The indictment against Ivanov and Shakhmametev alleged that they facilitated millions of dollars of illegal transactions supporting a network of global cybercriminals.
Ivanov allegedly linked to over $1B in crypto transactions
In court documents, Ivanov is described as an accomplished cyber money launderer for nearly two decades. His services allegedly represented major cybercrime marketplaces, ransomware groups, and hackers responsible for significant U.S. data breaches.
Cryptocurrency addresses linked to Ivanov’s operation allegedly conducted around $1.15 billion in transactions between July 2013 and August 2023. Authorities have indicted Shakhmametov for operating the notorious Joker’s Stash carding site.
In a related action, the U.S. government seized domain names for the Cryptex crypto exchange. Blockchain analytics revealed that addresses linked to criminal activities sent around 31% of the Bitcoin transferred through Cryptex. The total amount was $441 million.
The crackdown had international cooperation, with Dutch partners seizing the servers hosting the targeted exchanges. It recovers over $7 million in crypto assets. The U.S. State Department is offering up to $11 million in rewards for information. It will lead to the arrest of Ivanov, Shakhmametov, and their associates.
This is part of a coordinated effort that represents a significant escalation in the fight against cryptocurrency-enabled financial crimes, underscoring a growing focus on disrupting digital asset platforms serving cybercriminals and sanctions evaders.
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