US authorities have extradited an alleged cryptocurrency money launderer from the Netherlands to the US to pursue criminal proceedings. The authorities had charged the 29-year-old Russian citizen in August 2021, for his role in an international cryptocurrency money laundering conspiracy. Notably, Dutch authorities had arrested the defendant from Amsterdam in November 2021.
During 2018-21, the defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered the proceeds of Ryuk ransomware attacks on individuals and organizations in the US and abroad. Once they received the ransom payments, the defendant and his co-conspirators performed financial transactions to conceal the nature, source, location, and ownership details.
Overall, the conspiracy generated ransom proceeds worth over $70 million. The defendant allegedly laundered over $400,000 in illicit proceeds in July 2019 alone.
Source: US Department of Justice
