important point
- The US Department of Justice has indicted two Russians for their involvement in the 2011 Mt Gox hack.
- Both suspects will be charged with conspiracy to launder money in the Southern District of New York.
- One suspect has been charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money services business in the Northern District of California.
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Alexey Bilyuchenko (43) and Alexander Werner (29) are both Russian nationals. Paid Ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the 2011 hack of prominent cryptocurrency exchange Mt.Gox and the illegal operation of another cryptocurrency exchange called BTC-e.
A 2011 robbery led to Mt Gox’s eventual bankruptcy in 2014.
The charges filed by the Southern District of New York included conspiracy to launder money against both defendants, while the Northern District of California added Mr. Bilyuchenko to charges of money laundering conspiracy and operating an unauthorized money service. work.
These charges reveal complex multi-year activities involving the theft and laundering of approximately 647,000 BTC from Mt. Gox users across multiple continents. Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a press release::
“For years, Bilyuchenko and his co-conspirators operated a digital currency exchange that allowed criminals around the world, including computer hackers, ransomware attackers, drug cartels, and corrupt officials, to launder billions of dollars. It is said that he was
The indictment alleges that Mr. Bilyuchenko and Mr. Verner carried out a serious hack of Mt. Gox, then the largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, in September 2011. They used the unauthorized access to “allow bitcoin to be transferred from Mt.Gox wallets to controlled bitcoin addresses.” Bilyuchenko, Werner and their co-conspirators. According to the Justice Department, they are believed to have laundered 647,000 BTC from Mt. Gox, plus more through two other online exchanges.
The duo posed as providers of advertising services to Bitcoin Brokerage Services in New York, and between March 2012 and April 2013, the brokers attempted to transfer more than $6.6 million to offshore accounts under their control. is said to have persuaded In return, the intermediary received “credit,” he said. Exchange platform used to launder over 300,000 BTC stolen:
“A fraudulent advertising deal with a New York bitcoin broker allowed Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators to conceal and liquidate bitcoins stolen in the Mt Gox hack. It is said that
Bilyuchenko is accused of collaborating with Russian cryptocurrency “money launderer” Alexander Vinnik convicted In 2022, he was ordered by the Justice Department to operate the infamous cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e from 2011 until it was shut down by law enforcement in 2017. According to the indictment, BTC-e is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and was allegedly used as a laundering tool for cryptocurrency exchanges. Cybercriminals around the world.