The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Ukraine authorities have halted operations at nine exchanges suspected of money laundering.
FBI Seizes Nine Crypto Websites Suspected of Money Laundering and Weak KYC
The FBI collaborated with a Virtual Currency Response Team (VCRT), the main investigation department of the National Police of Ukraine, and the Ukraine Prosecutor General’s Office to crack down on violating crypto platforms.
The U.S. agency announced the outcome of the investigations in a May 1 press release.
The authorities shut down all servers of crypto exchanges 24xbtc.com, 100btc.pro, pridechange.com, 101crypta.com, uxbtc.com, trust-exchange.org, bitcoin24.exchange, paybtc.pro, and owl.gold.
Each platform offered users anonymous crypto transactions through voluntary registration programs violating several U.S. laws. However, authorities cite the exchanges’ extensive involvement in money laundering as the primary reason for the investigation.
Websites Played Central Role in Criminal Activities
According to the FBI, these unlicensed exchanges are important nodes in the cybercrime ecosystem. Consequently, they should accept criminal consequences.
Before shutting down the exchanges’ websites, the FBI investigated multiple ransomware hacks. In this hack, criminals attack a system, encrypt it, and then demand a ransom to unlock the compromised system again.
Criminals often demand cryptocurrency ransoms because virtual assets can seamlessly traverse borders.
According to the FBI, the platforms were popular with scammers and other cybercriminals.
The FBI confirmed that investigations were ongoing and called on the public for support in cracking down on other criminal exchanges.
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