Anonymous

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The United States government has taken action against two Russians and two cryptocurrency exchanges tied to alleged illicit Russian finance. The departments of the Treasury, Justice and State were involved, along with an assortment of overseas law enforcement agencies.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified PM2BTC, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, and Sergey Ivanov, who is associated with that exchange, as being of “primary money laundering concern.”&nbsp;At the same time, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Ivanov and another crypto exchange, Cryptex.
<h2 id="crypto-exchanges-to-the-underworld">Crypto exchanges to the underworld</h2>
PM2BTC is alleged to process the proceeds of ransomware attacks and other illicit activities. Half of its activities are linked to illegal operations, according to FinCEN. According to Chainalysis, PM2BTC <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="applewebdata://29A04DF0-5DE0-41E6-B068-804362A77207/Universal%20Anonymous%20Payment%20System" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">shares</a> wallet infrastructure with UAPS (Universal Anonymous Payment System), an underground payment processing system.
Cryptex is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines but advertises in Russian. The Treasury <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2616" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2616">said</a>:
<blockquote>
 “Cryptex is also associated with over $720&nbsp;million in transactions to services frequently used by Russia-based ransomware actors and cybercriminals, including fraud shops, mixing services, exchanges lacking KYC programs, and OFAC-designated virtual currency exchange Garantex.”&nbsp;
</blockquote>
<img alt="US sanctions Russian crypto platforms for money laundering ties" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01923032-03a8-78d2-9506-3f01628466c1">
Sources of Cryptex business. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-sanctions-russian-exchange-cryptex-uaps-fraud-shop-2024/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-sanctions-russian-exchange-cryptex-uaps-fraud-shop-2024/">Chainalysis</a>
The Treasury Department acknowledged the US Secret Service Cyber Investigative Section, the&nbsp;Netherlands Police and the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service for seizing web domains and infrastructure associated with PM2BTC, Cryptex and Ivanov. Chainalysis said that it and Tether also contributed to the effort.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-confirms-russia-presence-after-exit" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Binance continues to serve Russian users despite 2023 exit</a>
<h3 id="links-to-carding">Links to “carding”</h3>
In documents unsealed in the District Court of Eastern Virginia, Ivanov was <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-russian-nationals-charged-connection-operating-billion-dollar-money-laundering-1" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">charged</a> with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet bank fraud in connection with websites that engage in “carding,” or trading in stolen credit card information.
Timur Shakhmametov was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the same operations.
<figure>
 <img alt="US sanctions Russian crypto platforms for money laundering ties" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01923030-987b-78c6-92cd-d9354ba66c12">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/StateINL/status/1839325286447673473" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://x.com/StateINL/status/1839325286447673473">US Department of State</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ivanov or Shakhmametov.&nbsp;
Magazine:&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/hackers-crypto-wallets-recover-savings/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Meet the hackers who can help get your crypto life savings back</a>
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US sanctions Russian crypto platforms for money laundering ties

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