The FBI’s Detroit Field Office and other agencies have seized nine domain names used by organizations that allegedly provided virtual currency exchange services to cybercriminals. The authorities worked with Ukrainian agencies to close down related servers, with US-based servers taken offline by US authorities.
Additionally, the virtual currency exchanges were described as being non-compliant and were said to have lax anti-money laundering policies. They reportedly provided a hub for much cybercrime, including ransomware and other scams, with their activities in violation of federal law.
The accused organizations offered anonymous cryptocurrency exchange services to website visitors through sites such as bitcoin24.exchange and 101crypta.com. The virtual currency exchanges are believed to have enabled the activities of cybercriminals, and in some cases actively supported them.
In many cases, the exchanges were advertised on online forums dedicated to criminal activities. The language support on the service’s websites offered support in Russian and English, indicating the global nature of the alleged criminal enterprise.
Furthermore, the seizure of the domain names marks a step forward in the fight against virtual currency exchanges that are believed to support criminal activities.
Finally, these types of exchanges are seen as a key component of the cybercrime ecosystem. The ongoing investigation is expected to uncover further information about the activities of these organizations, and potentially lead to more action against them in the future.
