Chainalysis
September 27, 2024
Chainalysis Unicorn News - September 27, 2024
The U.S. government has announced sanctions and indictments against individuals and cryptocurrency exchanges linked to cybercrime, including the notorious Joker's Stash operator and the Russian exchange Cryptex. This move is part of a broader effort to combat international cybercrime and money laundering.
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() U.S. Sanctions and Indicts Individuals and Crypto Exchanges Linked to Cybercrime
The U.S. government has announced a series of sanctions and indictments targeting key figures in the cybercrime world. Timur Kamilevich Shakhmametov, the alleged operator of the now-defunct cybercrime store Joker's Stash, and Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov, a prominent Russian cybercriminal known as Taleon, are among those indicted. Shakhmametov is accused of running Joker's Stash, a platform involved in selling millions of stolen payment cards from major U.S. retailers. Ivanov is alleged to have laundered vast sums of money for cybercriminals over the past two decades through his cryptocurrency exchange, Cryptex, among other ventures. The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against these individuals, and the U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Ivanov's operations, including his cryptocurrency exchange, under new authorities designed to combat Russian money laundering activities. Another cryptocurrency exchange, PM2BTC, was also sanctioned, and an indictment against Ivanov was unsealed as part of Operation Endgame, a collaborative effort with the Netherlands Police and the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service. The sanctions led to the seizure of cryptocurrency worth approximately €7 million, or $7.8 million. The U.S. Treasury emphasized their commitment to combating cybercrime, highlighting the role of these entities in facilitating ransomware and other illicit activities. The U.S. Department of State has announced rewards up to $10 million for information leading to arrests or convictions.
