The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized three cryptocurrency domains associated with exchanges accused of facilitating the laundering of over $800 million for Russian entities. The seizures followed court authorizations obtained by U.S. authorities after suspicions arose regarding the illicit activities of the involved exchanges.
The seized exchanges are UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex. Users attempting to access these sites will see a notice indicating that U.S. authorities have seized the domains.
In a statement released on September 26, the DOJ charged two Russian nationals with allegedly pocketing millions from a high-profile money laundering scheme and for founding two of the three seized exchanges.
According to court documents, Sergey Ivanov, also known as “Taleon,” is accused of running an effective money laundering operation for various bad actors, including cybercriminals, ransomware groups, and darknet drug traffickers. The charges allege that Ivanov created and operated Russian payment and exchange services, including UAPS and PM2BTC, processing approximately $1.15 billion in digital asset transactions primarily for money laundering purposes from July 2013 to August 2024.
The third exchange, Cryptex, is believed to have processed over $1.4 billion in transactions, with 31% linked to criminal activities. Cryptex operated under two domains, Cryptex.net and Cryptex.one, and offered anonymity to users without requiring Know Your Customer (KYC) registrations. The exchange was actively marketed to cyber criminals.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated, “Working with our Dutch partners, we shut down Cryptex, an illicit crypto exchange and recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.”
According to the press release from U.S. authorities, a cryptocurrency blockchain analysis revealed that approximately 32% of all traced Bitcoin transactions handled by these exchanges were associated with criminal activities. The breakdown of Bitcoin assets linked to illicit use included:
- $158 million related to fraud
- Over $8.8 million used for ransomware payments
- Around $4.7 million originating from darknet drug markets
What to Know
U.S. authorities have intensified efforts to combat illegal activities linked to Russian individuals in the cryptocurrency sector. The DOJ and the U.S. Treasury have sanctioned Ivanov and Cryptex. At the same time, the State Department has offered an $11 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved in Ivanov’s operations or the Joker’s Stash network.
