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US Seizes Crypto Domains Tied to $2.5 Billion in Illicit Transactions

Russian national Sergey Ivanov, also known as "Taleon," has been indicted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for operating money laundering services that catered to cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and darknet drug traffickers. Ivanov allegedly operated crypto exchanges such as UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC, processing around $1.15 billion in digital asset transactions. Blockchain analysis revealed that 32% of Bitcoin handled by the exchanges were linked to criminal activity, including $158 million in fraud and over $8.8 million from ransomware payments. Dutch authorities also seized the servers hosting PM2BTC and Cryptex, recovering more than $7 million in crypto. Another crypto exchange, Cryptex, facilitated transactions worth $1.4 billion, of which 31% were associated with criminal conduct. The US Treasury has sanctioned Ivanov and Cryptex, and the State Department is offering rewards of up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest of those involved.

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