The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grabbed control of domains linked to three crypto exchanges, accusing them of moving more than $800 million in shady transactions. The action is part of a wider play to crush Russian money laundering operations that swim in the dark pools of the cyber underworld.
Crypto Kingpins Targeted in Coordinated Strike
Sergey Ivanov, known as “Taleon,” is in the spotlight after the DOJ unwrapped an indictment against him. Ivanov stands accused of running crypto laundromats like UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC, which have processed over $1.15 billion worth of crypto. But there’s a catch—32% of Bitcoin on these platforms came from cybercriminals, including $158 million from fraud and $8.8 million in ransomware money. So, this wasn’t your typical crypto gig.
Ivanov wasn’t acting alone either. The Feds also roped in Timur Shakhmametov, or “JokerStash,” the notorious hacker behind one of the biggest carding marketplaces in history. His platform, Joker’s Stash, sold stolen card data and raked in cash from shady buyers. Joker’s Stash had a link-up with Ivanov’s crypto empire, making it a key stop in laundering digital assets for cyber crooks.
Dutch Move in on Servers, U.S. Seizes Domains
Dutch law enforcement jumped into the fray too, pulling the plug on servers hosting PM2BTC and Cryptex. They swiped more than $7 million in crypto in the process. Cryptex wasn’t small-time either—it pushed $1.4 billion in transactions, with 31% of it tied to criminal deals. The U.S. Secret Service got the green light to seize domains for UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex, so anyone trying to hit those sites now sees a cold, hard government notice. That’s not something you want to wake up to.
Sanctions, Rewards, and Global Cooperation
The U.S. Treasury dropped sanctions on Ivanov, along with Cryptex. At the same time, the State Department decided to throw money at the problem, offering up to $11 million in rewards for intel on anyone tangled up in this mess. They’re hoping that with enough green on the line, someone’s going to start talking.
This whole takedown is another signal that no matter how anonymous you think crypto is, the long arm of the law still has reach.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.