The U.S.Department of Justice announced Thursday a crackdown on Russian money laundering operations, with an estimated impact of $800 million.
The agency said it had indicted two Russian citizens and seized domains linked to cryptocurrency exchanges used for money laundering. This is evidence of efforts to dismantle the financial networks behind cybercrime and geopolitical influence.
Sergei Ivanov, known as “Taleon,” is accused of money laundering and bank fraud. His operations, including services such as UAPS, PinPays and PM2BTC, allegedly processed transactions worth more than $1.15 billion. A significant portion of these transactions came from criminal activity, according to the Justice Department. The portion of transactions related to criminal activity amounted to about $368 million.
Similarly, Timur Shakhmametov, a.k.a. “JokerStash,” is accused of running the Joker’s Stash carding site, which sold millions of stolen payment card data, potentially amassing more than $1 billion in profits.
US Secret Service shuts down Cryptex Crypto platform
The US Secret Service has also seized domains linked to Cryptex, another cryptocurrency laundering platform. Investigations revealed transactions worth more than $1.4 billion through Cryptex, with significant funds tied to proceeds of crime. This included $441 million related to crimes such as fraud and ransomware payments.
These actions were not unilateral, but involved international law enforcement agencies. Dutch police, as well as other European agencies, supported them by seizing servers related to PM2BTC and Cryptex.
The Justice Department’s actions represent a major offensive against financial cybercrime, with a clear message to combat illicit financial flows. This strategy, involving multiple government agencies and international partners, aims to dismantle criminal networks and protect global financial integrity.
Earlier this year , the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on 13 entities along with two individuals, all accused of creating crypto services that potentially help Russian nationals evade international sanctions.
OFAC’ s actions were aimed at curbing Russia’s ability to use its international financial network in the context of its military actions against Ukraine.
