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German police have closed 47 shadow crypto exchanges and are starting to search for criminals.
During a large-scale operation codenamed "Final Exchange", German law enforcement agencies stopped the activities of 47 illegal cryptocurrency exchangers. These platforms provided services for the exchange of digital assets without following mandatory customer identification procedures, which created ideal conditions for laundering criminal proceeds.
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reported that the seized exchangers were a key link in the chain of money laundering. Among the clients of these services were hacker groups specializing in ransomware extortion, sellers of prohibited goods on the dark web, as well as botnet operators.
Now, when trying to enter the sites of closed exchangers, users are redirected to a special page with a warning. It reports that law enforcement agencies have gained access to all servers of these platforms, including production, test and backup servers. The police got hold of transaction data, registration information, and IP addresses of customers.
The largest of the closed exchangers were:
Investigators emphasize that the owners of these platforms have been misleading customers for years, assuring them of complete anonymity of operations. However, the reality turned out to be completely different - all data was carefully stored and will now be used to identify and prosecute those involved in illegal activities.
According to the VKA, the operators of closed exchangers face criminal prosecution under articles on money laundering and the administration of illegal trading platforms on the Internet. According to German law, such crimes are punishable by imprisonment for up to several years.
Despite the successful operation, no arrests have yet been reported. Law enforcement officers admit that many identified cybercriminals are protected in their countries of residence, which makes it difficult to prosecute them.
Definitely, the closure of so many illegal crypto exchanges will deal a serious blow to the cybercrime infrastructure. However, experts warn that new platforms may appear in place of the dismantled platforms, using even more sophisticated methods to conceal their activities.
Source
During a large-scale operation codenamed "Final Exchange", German law enforcement agencies stopped the activities of 47 illegal cryptocurrency exchangers. These platforms provided services for the exchange of digital assets without following mandatory customer identification procedures, which created ideal conditions for laundering criminal proceeds.
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reported that the seized exchangers were a key link in the chain of money laundering. Among the clients of these services were hacker groups specializing in ransomware extortion, sellers of prohibited goods on the dark web, as well as botnet operators.
Now, when trying to enter the sites of closed exchangers, users are redirected to a special page with a warning. It reports that law enforcement agencies have gained access to all servers of these platforms, including production, test and backup servers. The police got hold of transaction data, registration information, and IP addresses of customers.
The largest of the closed exchangers were:
- Xchange.cash – more than 410 000 users and 1 280 000 transactions
- 60cek.org – more than 300,000 users and 900,000 transactions
- Bankcomat.com – more than 250,000 users and 760,000 transactions
- Banksman.com – more than 280,000 users and 750,000 transactions
- Prostocash.com – more than 265,000 users and 470,000 transactions
- Multichange.net – more than 185,000 users and 430,000 transactions
Investigators emphasize that the owners of these platforms have been misleading customers for years, assuring them of complete anonymity of operations. However, the reality turned out to be completely different - all data was carefully stored and will now be used to identify and prosecute those involved in illegal activities.
According to the VKA, the operators of closed exchangers face criminal prosecution under articles on money laundering and the administration of illegal trading platforms on the Internet. According to German law, such crimes are punishable by imprisonment for up to several years.
Despite the successful operation, no arrests have yet been reported. Law enforcement officers admit that many identified cybercriminals are protected in their countries of residence, which makes it difficult to prosecute them.
Definitely, the closure of so many illegal crypto exchanges will deal a serious blow to the cybercrime infrastructure. However, experts warn that new platforms may appear in place of the dismantled platforms, using even more sophisticated methods to conceal their activities.
Source
