Global Effort Disrupts Russia Linked Network Using Crypto to Evade Sanctions, U.S. Charges Two Russians

Election 2024 coverage presented by
Russian nationals Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov have been charged for their involvement in operating money laundering services that catered to cybercriminals using cryptocurrencies, U.S. authorities announced on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of State has announced rewards amounting to $10 million each for information leading to the arrests of Shakhmametov and Ivanov.
U.S. authorities also seized websites associated with three illicit cryptocurrency exchanges, in what was termed a “coordinated international effort” involving authorities in the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, U.K, Europol, and multiple U.S. agencies. The websites relate to Russia linked payment and exchange platforms Cryptex.net, UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC.
A statement from U.S. President Joe Biden on U.S. support for Ukraine said “To counter Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Secret Service have taken action today to disrupt a global cryptocurrency network, in coordination with international partners.”
Ivanov conducted transactions worth over $1.15 billion in value in the past 11 years. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for providing payment processing support to the carding website Rescator and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for carding website Joker’s Stash. The unlawful use of stolen credit and debit card data for fraudulent purposes is known as “carding.”
Shakhmametov, known online as “JokerStash” and “Vega,” was charged with the same offences as Ivanov, but he also faces one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud for his role in operating the carding website Joker’s Stash, which offered for sale data from 40 million payment cards annually.
“The two Russian nationals charged today allegedly pocketed millions of dollars from prolific money laundering and fueled a network of cyber criminals around the world, with Ivanov allegedly facilitating darknet drug traffickers and ransomware operators,” said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
The operation involving the U.S. Secret Service saw the seizure of two website domain names used to support the cryptocurrency money laundering exchange “Cryptex.net,” where “37,500 transactions” amounting to $1.4 billion were made.
Read More: Russia Is About to Try Using Crypto to Get Around Sanctions
Edited by Parikshit Mishra.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
Amitoj Singh is a CoinDesk reporter.