US Sanctions Russian Suspects & Exchanges

The United States (US) government has launched a coordinated effort against two Russian individuals and two cryptocurrency exchanges linked to suspected illicit financing activities.

Involving the Departments of the Treasury, Justice, and State, along with various international law enforcement agencies, this initiative underscores a commitment to combat financial crime.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has designated PM2BTC, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, and Sergey Ivanov, associated with the exchange, as “primary money laundering concern.”

Concurrently, Timur Shakhmametov, another Russian individual, along with crypto exchange, Cryptex, was named too.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement:

“Today's actions underscore the United States's commitment, along with our allies and partners, to not allow cybercrime facilitators to operate with impunity.”

He added:

“We will continue to use all our tools and authorities to deter and expose these money laundering networks and impose costs on the cyber criminals and support networks. We reiterate our call that Russia must take concrete steps to prevent cyber criminals from freely operating in its jurisdiction.”

Brad Smith, acting under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, emphasized that these actions reflect the US government’s determination to prevent cybercrime facilitators from operating without accountability.

He expressed:

“Treasury, in close coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to use all tools and authorities to disrupt the networks that seek to leverage the virtual assets ecosystem to facilitate their illicit activities.”

Illegal & Criminal Activity Seen in the Exchanges

PM2BTC is accused of facilitating the processing of funds derived from ransomware attacks and other illegal activities, with FinCEN reporting that approximately half of its operations are linked to illicit practices.

Chainalysis reveals that PM2BTC utilises shared wallet infrastructure with UAPS (Universal Anonymous Payment System), a clandestine payment processing network.

Meanwhile, Cryptex, although registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, primarily operates out of Russia, according to the Biden administration.

The US government alleges that Sergey Ivanov has collaborated with various Russian payment and exchange services to provide money transfer and laundering services.

According to the Treasury:

“Cryptex is also associated with over $720 million in transactions to services frequently used by Russia-based ransomware actors and cybercriminals, including fraud shops, mixing services, exchanges lacking KYC programs, and OFAC-designated virtual currency exchange Garantex.”

The Treasury Department has recognised the contributions of the US Secret Service Cyber Investigative Section, the Netherlands Police, and the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service for their roles in seizing web domains and infrastructure linked to PM2BTC, Cryptex, and Ivanov.

Additionally, Chainalysis and Tether have also played a part in this

Charges & Up to $10M Reward Offered

In documents unsealed by the District Court of Eastern Virginia, Sergey Ivanov faces a charge of conspiracy to commit and aid bank fraud linked to websites involved in "carding," which entails trading stolen credit card information.

Timur Shakhmametov is charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit and aid bank fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all related to the same operations.

In an effort to gather information on both individuals, the State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for leads that result in their arrest or conviction.

Notably, this announcement coincided with President Biden's scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which additional US financial assistance for Ukraine's war efforts was to be unveiled.

Biden said ahead of their meeting:

“The United States will continue to raise the costs on Russia for its war in Ukraine and to deprive the Russian defense industrial base of resources.”