A Russian nationwide accused of processing cryptocurrency funds from ransomware assaults has pleaded responsible to cash laundering in the US. The person who was extradited from the Netherlands in mid-August, final 12 months, will probably be sentenced in April.
Russian Crypto Launderer Pleads Responsible in US Courtroom, Might Get As much as 20 Years in Jail
An alleged cash launderer from Russia has pleaded responsible to at least one depend of conspiracy to commit cash laundering in the US. Denis Dubnikov, now 30, was arrested on Nov. 2, 2021 in Amsterdam, handed over by Dutch authorities on Aug. 16, 2022, and first appeared in federal courtroom the following day.
The Russian and his accomplices have been laundering proceeds of Ryuk ransomware assaults on people and organizations within the U.S. and different international locations between at the least August 2018 and August 2021, in response to courtroom paperwork, quoted by the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace, District of Oregon. They made numerous monetary transactions to hide the supply and possession of the digital cash.
“Particularly, in July 2019, a United States-based firm paid a 250 bitcoin Ryuk ransom after a ransomware assault. On or about July 11, 2019, in Moscow, Russia, Dubnikov accepted 35 bitcoin from a co-conspirator in change for roughly $400,000,” detailed an announcement printed Tuesday.
The cryptocurrency got here immediately from the ransom paid by the corporate. Dubnikov transformed the bitcoin to tether and despatched it to a different particular person, who finally exchanged it for Chinese language yuan. Dubnikov’s co-conspirators laundered extra bitcoin and compensated him for his position.
Denis Dubnikov will probably be sentenced on April 11, 2023. The U.S. judicial authorities additional famous that conspiracy to commit cash laundering is punishable by as much as 20 years in federal jail, three years’ supervised launch, and a high quality of $500,000.
Ryuk is a sort of software program that encrypts recordsdata on the focused group’s computer systems. First recognized in 2018, the ransomware has been used towards victims throughout the globe and from numerous sectors, together with hospitals and healthcare suppliers in the US. Based on a latest report by blockchain forensics agency Chainalysis, revenue from ransomware assaults has decreased.
Do you assume circumstances like Dubnikov’s will end in an additional drop in ransomware funds? Share your ideas on the topic within the feedback part beneath.
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