US Seizes Crypto Domains Used to Launder $800 Million, Russians Involved
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday its crackdown on Russian money laundering operations worth an estimated $800 million, explaining that it has charged two Russian citizens and seized the domains of several cryptocurrency exchanges used in these operations; as part of the intensive efforts to eliminate financial networks involved in cybercrime and neutralize geopolitical influence.
DOJ Charges Russian Hackers “Talon” and “Jokerstash” with Involvement in Money Laundering Scheme
Sergey Ivanov, known as “Talon,” has been charged with money laundering and bank fraud, including fraudulent operations involving UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC services, which involved completing transactions worth more than $1.15 billion; The Justice Department explained that a large portion of these transactions, estimated to be worth about $368 million, were linked to criminal activity.
Similarly, Timur Shakhmametov, known as “JokerStash,” was accused of running a website of the same name that sold stolen bank card details, noting that the profits from these suspicious sales exceeded $1 billion.