In the recent crackdown on crypto-associated cybercrime, the U.S. Department of Justice issued charges against Aliaksandr Klimenka.
Klimenka is accused of working with Alexander Vinnik and other individuals from July 2011 to July 2017 to operate BTC-e, an unregulated digital currency exchange, and to participate in a money laundering scheme, according to unsealed indictments.
The US Targets Another Cryptocurrency Exchange
The US Justice Department has accused BTC-e of being a hub for money laundering and cybercrime. The company is said to have provided high anonymity trading services that drew in customers who were heavily involved in illicit activities.
The news statement states that the site allegedly enabled financial transactions resulting from a variety of illegal activities, including computer hacking, fraud, identity theft, and drug trafficking.
Authorities emphasize BTC-e's involvement in cybercrimes and point out that it operated on American servers reportedly in violation of mandatory anti-money laundering procedures and "know your customer" (KYC) guidelines.
Furthermore, according to the government agency, BTC-e violated federal regulations mandating strict anti-money laundering protocols by failing to register as a money services organization, despite its substantial operations within the United States.
The arrest of Klimenka in Latvia last December, according to the US Department of Justice, was a significant milestone in their "efforts to combat cryptocurrency-facilitated crimes."
After making his first court appearance in San Francisco, Klimenka is being kept in detention and could receive a hefty 25-year maximum term if found guilty. The accusations highlight the U.S. government's increased emphasis on crimes involving digital assets, with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) leading inquiries into cryptocurrency misuse.
The press release stressed that the joint actions of the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Secret Service underscore "the federal commitment to dismantling networks that leverage digital currencies for illegal activities."
Use of Cryptocurrency in Illegal Activity Falls to Record Lows
Despite the US government's claim, new research from the cryptocurrency analysis company Chainalysis suggests that just a tiny portion of blockchain transactions are utilized for illicit purposes.
$24 billion was received by "illicit addresses" in 2023, mostly from "sanctioned entities" according to US government records. This is a significant decrease from its 2022 value of approximately $40 billion, as shown in the following chart.