18 entries tagged “money-laundering”.
An entrepreneur and rapper known as 'Razzlekhan' who helped her husband Ilya Lichtenstein launder bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack. She pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced in November 2024 to 18 months in prison.
A privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet and mixing service (Whirlpool, Ricochet) whose founders the U.S. DOJ charged in 2024 with running an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Prosecutors said it processed $2B+ in Bitcoin and laundered $100M+ in criminal proceeds; both founders pleaded guilty in 2025.
A crypto exchange that U.S. and EU authorities say laundered roughly $700M+ of illicit funds, acting as a counterparty for the Hydra darknet market and ransomware crews. Its infrastructure was seized in January 2023; founder Anatoly Legkodymov pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
A cryptocurrency exchange (2011–2017) that the U.S. DOJ called one of the primary ways cybercriminals laundered illicit funds. It received proceeds of hacks, ransomware, and drug sales — including ~300,000 BTC tied to the Mt. Gox theft — and was shut down in 2017 when operator Alexander Vinnik was arrested.
OneCoin's former head of legal and compliance. Rather than ensure compliance, she helped launder the scheme's proceeds — including ~$110M routed to the Cayman Islands with Mark Scott. She pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced in 2024 to four years and $111.4M forfeiture.
A former U.S. attorney (Locke Lord partner) who, per a jury, laundered roughly $400M of OneCoin proceeds through a sham investment-fund structure. Convicted in 2019 of money-laundering and bank-fraud conspiracies; sentenced in 2024 to 10 years and $392.9M forfeiture.
Co-founder and CTO of Samourai Wallet. He pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and was sentenced to four years in prison; the judge cited his age and an autism diagnosis as mitigating factors.
Co-founder and CEO of Samourai Wallet. He pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and was sentenced to five years in prison; prosecutors cited messages calling mixing 'money laundering for Bitcoin.'
Russian national (formerly Aleksandr Ntifo-Siaw), co-founder and chief commercial officer of Garantex. Charged by the U.S. DOJ in March 2025 with money-laundering conspiracy over the exchange's role in laundering criminal proceeds.
Lithuanian national and Russian resident named by the U.S. DOJ as Garantex's primary technical administrator. Charged in March 2025 with money-laundering, sanctions, and unlicensed-money-transmitting conspiracies; arrested in India.
Founder and CEO of NAC Foundation, the company behind 'AML Bitcoin.' A jury convicted him of wire fraud and money laundering in 2025 over a ~$10M scheme; he was sentenced to 84 months (seven years) in prison.
The hacker who breached Bitfinex in 2016 and fraudulently transferred 119,754 BTC. He pleaded guilty in 2023 to a money-laundering conspiracy and admitted carrying out the hack; he was sentenced in November 2024 to five years in prison.
Russian national and founder/majority owner of the crypto exchange Bitzlato. Pleaded guilty in December 2023 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business that processed $700M+ in illicit funds; sentenced in July 2024 to time served.
A Russian national who U.S. prosecutors say was an operator of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to a money-laundering conspiracy; the DOJ said BTC-e handled over $9 billion and that he was responsible for at least $121 million in losses.
A Russian-run crypto exchange that the U.S. DOJ says processed at least $96B since 2019 while laundering proceeds for ransomware crews, darknet markets, and North Korea's Lazarus Group. Sanctioned by OFAC in 2022; its infrastructure was seized in March 2025 and two administrators were indicted.
A Cambodia-based conglomerate that U.S. prosecutors call one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations. Per an October 2025 DOJ indictment, founder Chen Zhi ran forced-labor compounds running 'pig-butchering' crypto investment scams; the DOJ seized ~127,271 BTC (~$15B) — its largest-ever forfeiture.
The most widely used name for North Korea's state-sponsored hacking apparatus, run under its Reconnaissance General Bureau. Blamed for the Sony hack, the Bangladesh Bank SWIFT heist, WannaCry, and — since ~2017 — many of the largest crypto thefts ever. Chainalysis puts DPRK's cumulative crypto haul near $6.75B, used to fund the regime's weapons programs.
About 119,754 BTC were stolen from the Bitfinex exchange in August 2016. In 2022 the U.S. DOJ arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan ('Razzlekhan') for laundering the proceeds; both pleaded guilty, and Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in 2024.