The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently announced that it is undertaking actions as part of a coordinated international effort to disrupt Russian cybercrime services. According to a press release, Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an order "that identifies PM2BTC – a Russian virtual currency exchanger associated with Russian individual Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov (Ivanov) – as being of 'primary money laundering concern' in connection with Russian illicit finance." The order prohibits certain transmittals of funds involving PM2BTC by any covered financial institution.
The Treasury press release further notes that concurrently "the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning Ivanov and Cryptex – a virtual currency exchange registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and operating in Russia." As a result of the OFAC action, all property and interests in property of Ivanov and Cryptex that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
In another recent press release, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against two individuals based in Los Angeles and Florida for alleged conspiracy to steal and launder more than $230 million in cryptocurrency from a victim in Washington, D.C. According to the press release, the defendants fraudulently gained access to the victim's cryptocurrency accounts, transferred the victim's funds into their possession, then laundered the proceeds, "including by moving the funds through various mixers and exchanges using 'peel chains,' pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their true identities."
In other news, according to recent reports, crypto exchange BingX has been hacked. The hackers reportedly stole approximately $43 million in cryptocurrencies in multiple tranches, then traded the stolen crypto on decentralized exchanges.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Treasury Takes Coordinated Actions Against Illicit Russian Virtual Currency Exchanges and Cybercrime Facilitator
- Indictment Charges Two in $230 Million Cryptocurrency Scam
- Crypto Exchange BingX Hacked, Onchain Data Shows Over $43M Drained
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