Law enforcement companies within the United States and Germany took down cryptocurrency-mixing service supplier ChipMixer, which laundered greater than $3 billion price of digital currencies since 2017. Though the platform operated on the darkish net, it had a clearnet net entrance.
Announced on Wednesday, the US federal regulation enforcement seized two domains directed to the ChipMixer service and a GitHub account. The German authorities forfeited the 4 ChipMixer back-end servers and $46 million in cryptocurrency.
Darknet crypto mixer ChipMixer seized and a Vietnamese National charged for allegedly laundering over $3 billion.
/chipmixer.com#cybersecurity #infosec @Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fiy1BCAHYA
— Dominic Alvieri (@AlvieriD) March 16, 2023
Further, the US prosecutors additionally charged the Vietnam-based Minh Quốc Nguyễn for working ChipMixer. The 49-year-old man is going through prices of cash laundering, working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise, and identification theft, which carries a most jail time of 40 years.
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“We will not allow cybercriminals to hide behind keyboards nor evade the consequences of their illegal actions. Countering cybercrime requires the ultimate level of collaboration between and among all law enforcement partners,” stated FBI Deputy Director, Paul Abbate.
Indeed, together with US and German regulation enforcement, the authorities in Belgium, Poland, and Switzerland, together with Europol, additionally supported the investigation.
The Dirty Business of Crypto Mixers
ChipMixer was one of many largest crypto-mixing companies that facilitated criminals to launder their ill-gotten proceeds. It supplied companies to a number of US-based clients however was not registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and didn’t accumulate data on its clients. The platform provided full anonymity to its clients.
According to the courtroom paperwork, ChipMixer processed $17 million in Bitcoin linked to 37 ransomware strains; over $700 million in Bitcoin from wallets containing stolen funds, together with from the Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge and Harmony’s Horizon Bridge assaults; greater than $200 million in Bitcoin linked to darknet markets; and over $35 million in bitcoin immediately or not directly related to fraud retailers.
The crypto mixing service processed Bitcoins utilized by the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate for buying infrastructure for the Drovorub malware.
“ChipMixer facilitated the laundering of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, on a vast international scale, abetting nefarious actors and criminals of all kinds in evading detection,” stated Jacqueline Romero, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Platforms like ChipMixer, which are designed to conceal the sources and destinations of staggering amounts of criminal proceeds, undermine the public’s confidence in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.”
Law enforcement companies world wide at the moment are actively tackling the rising cybercrimes. Though decentralized blockchain know-how brings new challenges to regulation enforcement, monitoring down cybercriminals stealing cryptocurrencies is feasible.
Earlier this yr, the Norwegian police seized $5.85 million in cryptocurrencies stolen by North Korean hackers from Ronin Network, the blockchain supporting the favored crypto-based sport Axie Infinity. In November 2021, the US authorities revealed the seizure of over 50,676 Bitcoins (then price over $3.36 billion) stolen from the infamous darkish net market, Silk Road, in 2012. It was the second largest monetary seizure by the US authorities following the forfeiture of $3.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrencies linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Last yr, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed its intentions to control cryptocurrency mixing applied sciences. In 2019, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), together with Europol and Luxembourg authorities, closed down the cryptocurrency mixing companies of Bestmixer.io, which was one of many market leaders on the time.
Law enforcement companies within the United States and Germany took down cryptocurrency-mixing service supplier ChipMixer, which laundered greater than $3 billion price of digital currencies since 2017. Though the platform operated on the darkish net, it had a clearnet net entrance.
Announced on Wednesday, the US federal regulation enforcement seized two domains directed to the ChipMixer service and a GitHub account. The German authorities forfeited the 4 ChipMixer back-end servers and $46 million in cryptocurrency.
Darknet crypto mixer ChipMixer seized and a Vietnamese National charged for allegedly laundering over $3 billion.
/chipmixer.com#cybersecurity #infosec @Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fiy1BCAHYA
— Dominic Alvieri (@AlvieriD) March 16, 2023
Further, the US prosecutors additionally charged the Vietnam-based Minh Quốc Nguyễn for working ChipMixer. The 49-year-old man is going through prices of cash laundering, working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise, and identification theft, which carries a most jail time of 40 years.
Keep Reading
“We will not allow cybercriminals to hide behind keyboards nor evade the consequences of their illegal actions. Countering cybercrime requires the ultimate level of collaboration between and among all law enforcement partners,” stated FBI Deputy Director, Paul Abbate.
Indeed, together with US and German regulation enforcement, the authorities in Belgium, Poland, and Switzerland, together with Europol, additionally supported the investigation.
The Dirty Business of Crypto Mixers
ChipMixer was one of many largest crypto-mixing companies that facilitated criminals to launder their ill-gotten proceeds. It supplied companies to a number of US-based clients however was not registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and didn’t accumulate data on its clients. The platform provided full anonymity to its clients.
According to the courtroom paperwork, ChipMixer processed $17 million in Bitcoin linked to 37 ransomware strains; over $700 million in Bitcoin from wallets containing stolen funds, together with from the Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge and Harmony’s Horizon Bridge assaults; greater than $200 million in Bitcoin linked to darknet markets; and over $35 million in bitcoin immediately or not directly related to fraud retailers.
The crypto mixing service processed Bitcoins utilized by the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate for buying infrastructure for the Drovorub malware.
“ChipMixer facilitated the laundering of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, on a vast international scale, abetting nefarious actors and criminals of all kinds in evading detection,” stated Jacqueline Romero, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Platforms like ChipMixer, which are designed to conceal the sources and destinations of staggering amounts of criminal proceeds, undermine the public’s confidence in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.”
Law enforcement companies world wide at the moment are actively tackling the rising cybercrimes. Though decentralized blockchain know-how brings new challenges to regulation enforcement, monitoring down cybercriminals stealing cryptocurrencies is feasible.
Earlier this yr, the Norwegian police seized $5.85 million in cryptocurrencies stolen by North Korean hackers from Ronin Network, the blockchain supporting the favored crypto-based sport Axie Infinity. In November 2021, the US authorities revealed the seizure of over 50,676 Bitcoins (then price over $3.36 billion) stolen from the infamous darkish net market, Silk Road, in 2012. It was the second largest monetary seizure by the US authorities following the forfeiture of $3.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrencies linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Last yr, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed its intentions to control cryptocurrency mixing applied sciences. In 2019, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), together with Europol and Luxembourg authorities, closed down the cryptocurrency mixing companies of Bestmixer.io, which was one of many market leaders on the time.
