US shuts down crypto service ChipMixer linked to $3 billion in transactions
US and German law enforcement agencies have shut down ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency service that was allegedly used to launder billions of dollars in illegal proceeds, authorities said Wednesday.
US and German law enforcement agencies have shut down ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency service that was allegedly used to launder billions of dollars in illegal proceeds, authorities said Wednesday.
Ransomware groups, suspected North Korean hackers, dark web users and vendors who bought and sold stolen financial information used the site, which processed more than $3 billion in illegal transactions, according to the US Department of Justice. Bitcoin used by a Russian military intelligence unit to buy hacking tools also flowed through the site, according to the Justice Department.
Ransomware groups, suspected North Korean hackers, dark web users and vendors who bought and sold stolen financial information used the site, which processed more than $3 billion in illegal transactions, according to the US Department of Justice. Bitcoin used by a Russian military intelligence unit to buy hacking tools also flowed through the site, according to the Justice Department.
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German police seized $46 million in cryptocurrency as part of the operation, as well as servers used to run the website, according to police.
“ChipMixer facilitated the laundering of cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, on a large international scale, helping nefarious actors and criminals of all stripes evade detection,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
The service allegedly allowed criminals to obscure the source of stolen cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors in Philadelphia charged Minh Quốc Nguyễn (49) from Vietnam with money laundering in connection with the operation of ChipMixer. The Hanoi resident is accused of identity theft and open advertising to undermine anti-money laundering controls.
Nguyễn is not in police custody, a Justice Ministry spokesman said. Bloomberg could not reach a Nguyễn representative for comment.
The ChipMixer website currently displays an image that says it has been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This site contains a link “to report more information about ChipMixer and its operators.”
So-called mixed services have become a focus for authorities worldwide. In August 2022, the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. Earlier in the same year, Blender.io was also hit by sanctions.
