US seizes crypto domains connected to Russian money laundering scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice has seized domains linked to three cryptocurrency exchanges that allegedly facilitated illicit transactions worth more than $800 million in connection with Russia’s money laundering operations.

US authorities received court permission to seize the UAPS, PM2BTC and Cryptex domains. Anyone who opens these domains will see a government notification stating that the site has been taken over for illegal activity.

In a statement released on September 26, the U.S. Department of Justice charged two Russian citizens for allegedly pocketing millions through an efficient money laundering scheme built on a network of cybercriminals around the world.

The Department of Justice has charged Russian citizen Sergey Ivanov, also known as “Taleon,” with running various money laundering services for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and darknet drug traffickers, according to unsealed court documents.

Ivanov allegedly created and operated Russian payment and exchange services UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC to process approximately $1.15 billion in digital asset transactions for money laundering purposes between July 2013 and August 2024.

Cryptex, another crypto exchange linked to money laundering, was also found to have facilitated transactions worth $1.4 billion, 31% of which were linked to criminal activity.

US authorities seized the domain names “Cryptex.net” and “Cryptex.one”. These sites reportedly offer anonymity to their users, allowing them to sign up for accounts without meeting know-your-customer compliance requirements.

Similar to UAPS and PM2BTC, Cryptex was advertised directly to cybercriminals.

“Working with our Dutch partners, we shut down Cryptex, an illegal crypto exchange, and recovered millions of dollars of cryptocurrency,” said Acting Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Russian national Timur Shakhmametov was also accused of operating Joker’s Stash, one of the largest carding sites in history, selling stolen credit and debit card information. Like Ivanov, Shakhmametov allegedly promoted Joker’s Stash website and stolen payment card details on various cybercrime forums.

According to the press release, cryptocurrency blockchain analysis revealed that approximately 32% of all Bitcoins (BTC) tracked on these exchanges were associated with criminal activity. More than $158 million in Bitcoin was linked to fraud, while more than $8.8 million was used for ransomware payments and nearly $4.7 million originated in darknet drug markets.

Along with the Department of Justice, the US Treasury also imposed sanctions on Ivanov and Cryptex. Meanwhile, the State Department has offered an $11 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved in Ivanov or Joker’s Stash operations.