The US Department of Justice has seized domains linked to three crypto exchanges allegedly involved in illicit transactions exceeding $800 million related to Russian money laundering operations.

US authorities obtained court authorization to seize the domains of UAPS, PM2BTC, and Cryptex. Visitors to these domains will see a government notice indicating the sites have been seized due to illegal activity.

DOJ Charges Russian Nationals for Money Laundering

In a statement published on Sept. 26, the US DOJ charged two Russian nationals for allegedly pocketing millions from a money laundering scheme involving a network of cybercriminals across the globe. According to unsealed court documents, Russian national Sergey Ivanov, also known as “Taleon,” was accused of operating various money laundering services for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and darknet drug traffickers.

Ivanov allegedly created and operated Russian payment and exchange services UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC to process approximately $1.15 billion in digital asset transactions for money laundering purposes between July 2013 and August 2024.

Cryptex and Its Role in Illicit Transactions

Cryptex, another crypto exchange implicated in money laundering, facilitated transactions worth $1.4 billion, with 31% of them linked to criminal activity. The US authorities seized the domains “Cryptex.net” and “Cryptex.one.” These sites reportedly offered anonymity to their users, allowing account registration without know-your-customer (KYC) compliance requirements. Similar to UAPS and PM2BTC, Cryptex was advertised directly to cybercriminals.

“Working with our Dutch partners, we shut down Cryptex, an illicit crypto exchange, and recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Further Indictments and Sanctions

Russian national Timur Shakhmametov was also indicted for operating Joker’s Stash, one of the largest carding websites in history, which sold stolen credit and debit card information. Like Ivanov, Shakhmametov allegedly promoted Joker’s Stash website and its stolen payment card details on various cybercrime forums.

According to a press release, a cryptocurrency blockchain analysis revealed that approximately 32% of all traced Bitcoin handled by these exchanges were associated with criminal activity. With more than $158 million in Bitcoin connected to fraud, over $8.8 million was used for ransomware payments, and around $4.7 million originated from darknet drug markets.

Together with the DOJ, the U.S. Treasury has also sanctioned Ivanov and Cryptex. Meanwhile, the State Department has offered an $11 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved in the Ivanov or Joker’s Stash operations.

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