According to the FBI, seized crypto exchanges were "important hubs in the cybercrime ecosystem."
A joint operation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Ukrainian law enforcement has taken down nine crypto exchanges suspected of enabling cybercriminals to launder money.
According to the United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Michigan press release shared on May 1st, the operation was conducted by the FBI's Detroit Field Office and the National Police of Ukraine.
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During the coordinated effort, officials shut down and seized the domains of nine digital currency exchanges allegedly facilitating cybercrime.
The targeted domains include 24xbtc.com, 100btc.pro, pridechange.com, trust-exchange.org, and bitcoin24.exchange, which provided completely anonymous crypto exchange services, bypassing rules and regulations that licensed exchanges must follow.
Visitors to these websites will now encounter a seizure notice from the authorities. The FBI pointed out that the crypto exchanges, offering services in both English and Russian, had "lax" anti-money laundering policies and collected little to no Know Your Customer (KYC) information from their users.
These rogue, unlicensed crypto exchanges have been described by the Bureau as "important hubs in the cybercrime ecosystem."
The agency claims that many of them were promoted "on online forums dedicated to discussing criminal activity." On top of that, the FBI noted:
Much of the criminal activity occurring at the affected exchanges involved cyber actors responsible for ransomware, but also other scammers, and cybercriminals.
In recent months, the FBI has been actively involved in various cryptocurrency-related investigations and operations. At the end of April, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the house of former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame.
This joint operation highlights the ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime and money laundering in the cryptocurrency space, sending a strong message to those who may engage in similar activities.
