U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber | U.S. Department of Justice
The Justice Department has announced coordinated actions with the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and other federal and international law enforcement partners to combat Russian money laundering operations. This includes unsealing an indictment against a Russian national involved in operating multiple money laundering services for cybercriminals and seizing websites associated with three illicit cryptocurrency exchanges.
“Today's actions highlight the Department’s continued disruption of malicious cyber actors and their criminal ecosystem,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The two Russian nationals charged today allegedly pocketed millions of dollars from prolific money laundering and fueled a network of cyber criminals around the world, with Ivanov allegedly facilitating darknet drug traffickers and ransomware operators. Working with our Dutch partners, we shut down Cryptex, an illicit crypto exchange, and recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.”
“Every step cybercriminals take in their pursuit of money leaves another track that leads us to their doorstep,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “And if you follow them on their path of greed, they will lead us to you. We will not stop because while domains can always be seized, justice is unyielding.”
“The Secret Service is relentless in pursuing those engaged in criminal activity,” said Assistant Director Brian Lambert of the U.S. Secret Service. “I thank our domestic and foreign partners for their efforts on this case as we continue our work bringing to justice those engaged in transnational criminal activity.”
Court documents unsealed today reveal that Sergey Ivanov, known online as “Taleon” among other aliases, was charged with conspiracy to commit and aid bank fraud for providing payment processing support to the carding website Rescator, and conspiracy to commit money laundering for laundering proceeds from Joker’s Stash. Ivanov allegedly operated as a professional cyber money launderer for nearly two decades.
Ivanov allegedly created or operated Russian payment services UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC which provided money transfer services directly to criminals. Between July 12, 2013, and August 10, 2024, transactions totaling approximately $1.15 billion were conducted through these services.
Additionally charged is Timur Shakhmametov (known online as “JokerStash” or “Vega”) with conspiracy related to his operation of Joker’s Stash carding website.
Separately, the U.S. Secret Service executed a seizure order against domains used by Cryptex.net which facilitated anonymous cryptocurrency transactions linked to criminal activities amounting to $1.4 billion.
In coordination with these actions taken today:
- The Dutch authorities seized servers hosting PM2BTC and Cryptex.
- The U.S. Department of State issued reward offers up to $11 million for information leading to arrests.
- Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified PM2BTC as being of primary concern.
- Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Cryptex and Ivanov.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell is prosecuting Ivanov's case along with Trial Attorney Jeff Pearlman and Senior Counsel Jessica Peck handling Cryptex's investigation.
Various international agencies including Netherlands Police provided assistance in these matters.
An indictment is merely an accusation; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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