CNN —
US federal prosecutors have seized websites linked to illegal cryptocurrency exchanges operating multibillion-dollar money laundering services as part of a major US crackdown on Russian cybercrime. Criminal charges have been filed against two Russian men.
One of them, Sergei Ivanov, is one of the longest-running professional cyber money launderers known to U.S. law enforcement, with a history of nearly 20 years, according to Justice Department officials. It is said that he has done so. Another man, Timur Shakmametov, is accused of running a notorious cybercrime marketplace called Joker’s Stash, which U.S. authorities say made him hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from selling stolen payment card information. He says he got it.
None of the Russian men are in U.S. custody, and the State Department has offered $10 million for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
An indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia charges Ivanov and Shakmametov with bank fraud and money laundering-related offenses. Shakhmametov was also charged with conspiracy to commit “access device fraud” for accessing data on stolen payment cards.
CNN first reported the actions of U.S. law enforcement.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned Ivanov and crypto exchange Cryptex, which the department says is involved in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cybercrime.
“Working with our partners in the Netherlands, we shut down the illegal cryptocurrency exchange Cryptex and recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
Mr. Ivanov and Mr. Shakhmametov are accused of helping run “card” websites such as “Joker’s Stash” that sell stolen credit and debit card information. According to U.S. law enforcement, these sites advertised financial information stolen from tens of millions of Americans. Additionally, millions of dollars in ransomware payments and darknet drug sales allegedly flowed through crypto accounts linked to Ivanov’s services.
The move comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. President Zelenskiy is expected to urgently appeal for more US support in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Biden referenced the crackdown on suspected Russian cybercriminals in a statement Thursday, saying the United States “worked with our international partners to take action today to disrupt the global cryptocurrency network.” .
For years, the U.S. government has tried to get Russia to crack down on cybercriminals operating on its soil, with little success. In January 2022, when Russian authorities captured a suspect in a devastating ransomware attack on a U.S. pipeline operator, U.S. officials were briefly optimistic that such cooperation might improve. . However, those hopes quickly disappeared a month later when Russia invaded Ukraine in earnest.
“We reiterate our demand that Russia take concrete steps to prevent cybercriminals from operating freely within its jurisdiction,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Thursday. I will make a statement.”
For many years, Joker’s Stash was a powerful player in the Russian-speaking underground criminal organization. Crime forums advertised that data was stolen in a major breach of a US company. According to the Department of Justice, Shakhmametov is suspected of using other online criminal forums to disseminate information about Joker’s Stash and the large amount of stolen data stored there.
The forum announced it would shut down in 2021 after US and European law enforcement agencies seized some computer servers used by Joker’s Stash. However, the search for the two Russian men by U.S. law enforcement continues.
This story has been updated with additional details.
