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The creator of Cryptonator was charged for organizing an international money laundering service.
The US Department of Justice has charged Roman Pikulev with creating and operating an unlicensed Cryptonator exchange, through which more than $235 million of illegal funds were processed.
According to the indictment, Pikulev and his co-conspirators operated Cryptonator from 2014 until March 2023. The platform carried out an international money laundering scheme, providing services mainly to criminals. Cryptonator accepted funds received as a result of numerous computer hacks, ransomware attacks, fraud and identity theft.
Cryptonator has never registered with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is a federal crime. The Ministry of Justice claims that the platform did not have significant anti-money laundering processes and an effective control program. Pikulev was aware that the funds processed by him were obtained by criminal means or intended to support criminal activities.
Cybercriminals used the platform to exchange cryptocurrencies and withdraw funds to fiat currency. Pikulev implemented functions in Cryptonator that anonymized the source of funds. In official documents, Pikulev also used the pseudonym "BOSS". He managed the platform through a variety of IT providers from the United States and placed ads in American social networks to promote the service.
The investigators also received a search warrant for the email address used by Pikulev for registration. cryptonator.com. In total, the platform processed more than 4 million transactions worth $1.4 billion, while Pikulev received a small percentage of each transaction. According to TRM Labs, the information shows numerous transactions and connections of Cryptonator with other criminal markets-Blender, Hydra Market, Bitzlato, Garantex, etc.
Cryptonator-controlled Bitcoin addresses directly and indirectly sent or received:
Source
The US Department of Justice has charged Roman Pikulev with creating and operating an unlicensed Cryptonator exchange, through which more than $235 million of illegal funds were processed.
According to the indictment, Pikulev and his co-conspirators operated Cryptonator from 2014 until March 2023. The platform carried out an international money laundering scheme, providing services mainly to criminals. Cryptonator accepted funds received as a result of numerous computer hacks, ransomware attacks, fraud and identity theft.
Cryptonator has never registered with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is a federal crime. The Ministry of Justice claims that the platform did not have significant anti-money laundering processes and an effective control program. Pikulev was aware that the funds processed by him were obtained by criminal means or intended to support criminal activities.
Cybercriminals used the platform to exchange cryptocurrencies and withdraw funds to fiat currency. Pikulev implemented functions in Cryptonator that anonymized the source of funds. In official documents, Pikulev also used the pseudonym "BOSS". He managed the platform through a variety of IT providers from the United States and placed ads in American social networks to promote the service.
The investigators also received a search warrant for the email address used by Pikulev for registration. cryptonator.com. In total, the platform processed more than 4 million transactions worth $1.4 billion, while Pikulev received a small percentage of each transaction. According to TRM Labs, the information shows numerous transactions and connections of Cryptonator with other criminal markets-Blender, Hydra Market, Bitzlato, Garantex, etc.
Cryptonator-controlled Bitcoin addresses directly and indirectly sent or received:
- more than $25 million from darknet markets or fraudulent stores;
- more than $34.5 million from scam addresses;
- more than $80 million from high-risk exchanges;
- more than $8 million from addresses linked to ransomware groups;
- more than $54 million from addresses associated with the theft of cryptocurrencies as a result of hacking;
- more than $34 million from cryptomixers;
- more than $71 million from sanctioned addresses.
Source
