The pair behind a $389 million cryptocurrency laundering service dubbed “AudiA6” have been arrested following international investigations between the US, Europol, and 10 other countries.
According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, both Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk, 37, Ukrainian, and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, 25, Russian, are residents of Georgia, where they are currently in custody.
The US will be seeking the pair’s extradition, after which they could each face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Europol called the platform the “most trusted by ransomware gangs and cybercriminal networks” and links it to “over 15 international cybercrime investigations.”
In what is described as a “coordinated international takedown,” properties were searched, cryptocurrency was frozen, and online infrastructure was targeted, with the organization’s websites replaced by a law enforcement seizure banner.
Read more: Crypto hack goes political as Grinex blames ‘Western special services’
As well as running AudiA6, the pair allegedly ran the cybercrime forum Dark2Web. On the forum, AudiA6 “explicitly offers to conceal and disguise” cryptocurrency linked to criminal activity “for a fee of up to five percent.”
According to US law enforcement’s blockchain analysis, over 10,000 bitcoin (BTC) are estimated to have been deposited into AudiA6 since its launch in 2021.
Of these, almost 400 BTC were deposited directly from illicit sources, with additional funds indirectly linked to illicit activity.
KuCoin catches strays
Prolific blockchain investigator ZachXBT called AudiA6 “one of the top” users of centralized crypto exchange KuCoin where it ran a “centralized mixing services for cybercriminals.”
He believes AudiA6 laundered funds stolen from Swissborg last year, and LastPass users, which began in December 2022.
In April, the sleuth questioned why Kucoin would “allow” the laundering of crypto stolen via a fake Ledger app and from crypto ATM Bitcoin Depot.
Read more: KuCoin criticized for helping ‘launder’ $9.5M from fake Ledger app
Another blockchain sleuth is similarly critical of KuCoin in its alleged failure to prevent AudiA6’s operations.
SEAL contributor Nick Bax claims that KuCoin “facilitated” the laundering of “a very large amount of LastPass stolen funds.” He adds that “in rare cases” the exchange temporarily froze funds, but “would often release the funds back to the launderers.”
He also points out that AudiA6 “literally advertised key sweeping,” the mass draining of crypto from stolen seed phrases, such as from a compromised password manager.
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