The United States imposed sanctions against the Cryptex crypto service

[Friend]

Cryptex, according to the US Treasury Department, is associated with transactions worth more than $720 million with services "often used by Russian ransomware developers and cybercriminals"

The United States has imposed blocking sanctions against the Cryptex crypto exchange, which is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines under the name "International Payment Service Provider" (International Payment Service Provide) and operates in Russia, follows from the materials of the US Treasury Department and the Counter-Terrorism Agency Financial Crimes (FinCEN).

Cryptex is an anonymous service for the exchange, purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, where verification is not required for any type of transactions. The site has been operating since 2017, so far it is not very popular among users. This crypto exchange features the main popular cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), Monero (XMR), NEM (XEM).

As noted by OFAС, this exchange "provides financial services to cybercriminals" (in particular, it is associated with the laundering of money received from cybercriminals and other illegal activities) and "operates in the financial services sector in the economy of the Russian Federation." The agency emphasizes that Cryptex advertises its services related to operations with cryptocurrencies in Russian. According to the Ministry of Finance, the crypto service was used by cybercriminals who make money through ransomware attacks: as a result of such operations, $51.2 million passed through the service.

The US Treasury also imposed sanctions against Russian Sergey Ivanov, who may be associated with this crypto exchange. The U.S. Treasury writes that this is an alleged Russian "money launderer" who has laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in virtual currency over the past 20 years or so. He is accused of helping criminals carry out financial transactions that supported criminal activities in Russia and abroad. In particular, the agency pointed out that Sergei Ivanov acted through various illegal payment platforms, in particular the UAPS processor, as well as Genesis Market, whose website was closed by US law enforcement agencies in 2023. "Ivanov is currently associated with Cryptex," the press release claims.

OFAC also notes that another Russian cryptocurrency exchanger, PM2BTC, is also associated with Sergey Ivanov. FinCEN found that almost half of the PM2BTC processed by the transaction is related to illegal activity. The service anonymously exchanged cryptocurrencies for rubles using financial institutions under US sanctions and did not comply with AML/KYC standards.

Law enforcement officers in the United States and the Netherlands seized the domains and infrastructure of PM2BTC, UAPS and Cryptex. The U.S. State Department offered up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Sergei Ivanov.

• Source: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20240926

IVANOV, Sergey Sergeevich (Cyrillic: ИВАНОВ, Сергей Сергеевич ) (a.k.a. OMELNITSKII, Sergey Sergeevich (Cyrillic: OMELNITSKIY, Sergey Sergeevich); a.k.a. "Taleon"; a.k.a. "UAPS"), St. Petersburg, Russia; DOB 02 Jun 1980; POB Russia; nationality Russia; Gender Male; Secondary sanctions risk: See Section 11 of Executive Order 14024.; Passport 4015431802 (Russia) (individual) [RUSSIA-EO14024].

• Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2616

• Source: https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/federal_register_notices/2024-09-26/PM2BTC-Order-508.pdf

Domains have a deface: http://cryptex.net/, http://apsyourfriend.cc/, https://pm2btc.me/

 

[Man]

14 regions, 148 searches: the Investigative Committee discloses the Cryptex network.
Turnover of 112 billion: how criminal crypto services worked.

Investigators have opened a criminal case against the creators of the anonymous payment system UAPS and the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchange, the press service of the Investigative Committee of Russia reports. They were charged with organizing a criminal community and participating in it, illegal access to computer information, illegal circulation of means of payment, as well as illegal banking activities. A criminal case was initiated under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 210, Part 3 of Article 272, Part 2 of Article 187 and paras. "a", "b" of Part 2 of Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

According to the investigation, in 2013, the creators of UAPS and Cryptex, having knowledge in the field of banking, organized a criminal community for the purpose of personal enrichment and committing crimes. "The accomplices have developed an infrastructure in the form of an anonymous payment system "UAPS", a cryptocurrency exchange "Cryptex" and 33 online services designed to implement illegal banking activities, illegal circulation of means of payment and illegal access to computer information protected by law," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

It is reported that members of the community conducted illegal activities for the exchange of currencies, cryptocurrencies, delivery and acceptance of cash, the sale of bank cards and personal accounts. The clients of these services were mainly cybercriminals and hackers who used them to legalize their income.

In 2023, the turnover of funds through the services exceeded 112 billion rubles, and the total criminal income amounted to 3.7 billion rubles. During the investigation, 148 searches were carried out in 14 regions of Russia. As a result of the searches, 96 suspects were detained, who are being taken to Moscow for further investigative actions.

According to the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Irina Volk, the detainees not only created an anonymous crypto exchange, but also issued their own bank cards and provided access to transactions through an online account. The operation to detain members of the criminal community was carried out by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with the participation of technical specialists and operatives.

Footage of the searches released by the Investigative Committee shows large sums of cash, as well as cars such as Tesla and Mercedes, a helicopter and a Cybertruck. According to Interfax, one of the defendants in the case is Sergei Ivanov, a Russian citizen who was previously sanctioned by the United States for participating in money laundering.

 

[Man]

1.5 billion under arrest: Cryptex is in a hopeless situation.
The investigation demands a preventive measure for the defendants in the largest cryptocurrency case.

The Investigative Committee of Russia petitions for the election of a preventive measure for the defendants in the criminal case related to the activities of the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchange and the anonymous payment system UAPS. The detainees were taken to the Main Investigation Department in Moscow, where they are now being interrogated about their involvement in criminal activities.

Charges were brought against them under a number of serious articles, including the organization of a criminal community (Parts 1, 2 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), illegal access to computer information (Part 3 of Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), illegal circulation of means of payment (Part 2 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and illegal banking activities (paras. "a", "b" of Part 2 of Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The investigation appealed to the Zamoskvoretsky District Court with a petition to choose a preventive measure for the participants in the case.

According to the investigation, the property of the suspects, including helicopters, luxury cars and boats, may be seized. During searches in St. Petersburg, more than 1.5 billion rubles were seized. The investigation is also considering the issue of seizing the seized property in order to ensure the execution of the sentence.

The investigation is related to the activities of the anonymous payment system UAPS and the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchange. According to the investigation, their creators organized a criminal community for the illegal exchange of currencies, cryptocurrencies and banking operations. The total turnover of funds through these services in 2023 exceeded 112 billion rubles, which was the reason for a large-scale investigation and the detention of 96 suspects.

 

[Man]

The Moscow court chose a measure of restraint for the organizer of the criminal community of the cryptocurrency exchange "Cryptex"

By the decision of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow, the petition of the preliminary investigation authorities was granted to elect a preventive measure against Ivanov Sergey Sergeevich in the form of detention for a period of 1 month 27 days, that is, until November 30, 2024.

Ivanov is accused of committing crimes under
Parts 1, 2 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Organization of a criminal community (criminal organization) or participation in it (her));
Part 3 of Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal access to computer information);
Part 2 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal circulation of means of payment);
under paragraphs "a", "b" of Part 2 of Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal banking activities).

• Source: https://t.me/moscowcourts/4834

The Moscow court chose a measure of restraint for two more accomplices of the criminal community of the cryptocurrency exchange "Cryptex"

By the decisions of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of the city of Moscow, the suspects:

Orekhovsky Ruslan Vitalievich;

Roman Vitalievich Orekhovsky was granted the petition of the preliminary investigation authorities to choose a measure of restraint for each in the form of house arrest for a period of 1 month 28 days, that is, until November 28, 2024, with the establishment of certain prohibitions and restrictions for the period of house arrest.

• Source: https://t.me/moscowcourts/4817

-----------

And there are such stories Match:

Systems solved another cybercrime and helped to return 68 million USD!

Recently, the victim transferred 68 million USD in cryptocurrency to the attacker's address by mistakenly copying his address (there was a "dust attack").

Match Systems took on the mission to investigate this incident and, with the assistance of the exchange, cryptex.net successfully negotiated.

The combination of technical expertise and a strategic approach allowed the team to quickly identify the key data needed to de-anonymize the adversary and make a significant contribution to the negotiation process.

In close cooperation with the victim, the exchange cryptex.net and thanks to the experience of negotiation, Match Systems contributed to the successful recovery of all lost funds.

On my own behalf, I can say that Match Systems has repeatedly helped me and my friends solve complex problems related to cybercrime.

Andrey Kutyin, CEO of Match Systems, noted the importance of such operations: "This case emphasizes that the speed of response and the competent application of technical and negotiation strategies can lead to successful results. This is not just a victory for our team, but also a signal for the entire industry that security in the field of cryptocurrencies can and should be fought for".

How not to become a victim of such an attack?
Never copy the address from the wallet when sending cryptocurrency, but check it with the addressee.

• Source: https://t.me/thebridgefornetworking/1745