The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Ukrainian law enforcement recently collaborated on a successful operation to take down rogue digital currency exchanges. The operation involved the seizure of domains of nine virtual currency exchange services.
The agency seized about nine exchanges
Some of the exchanges seized included 24xbtc.com, 100btc.pro, pridechange.com, and bitcoin24.exchange. These websites provided anonymous digital currency exchange services that circumvented the rules and regulations required of licensed crypto exchanges.
The FBI discovered that these exchanges had insufficient anti-money laundering measures and barely collected any know-your-customer (KYC) information or none at all.
These unlicensed exchanges serve as hubs in the cybercrime ecosystem, according to the Bureau. Many of these virtual currency exchanges were advertised on online forums devoted to discussing criminal activities.
The FBI has been increasingly involved in cryptocurrency-related issues, reflecting the significance of digital currencies in the global economy and the resulting increase in cryptocurrency-related crimes.
FBI tightens leash on crypto criminals
The Bureau has been investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in various forms of cryptocurrency-related crime, including theft, fraud, money laundering, and ransomware attacks.
In April, the FBI conducted a search of the home of Ryan Salame, a former executive at FTX, in relation to his previous role as one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s top advisors. The Bureau’s inquiry into Salame is focused on whether he played a role in insider trading or market manipulation.
Earlier this year, the FBI seized 86.5 ETH and two non-fungible tokens (NFTs) worth over $100,000 from a phishing scammer. The seizure followed a lengthy investigation by independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT, who first exposed the fraudulent activity on Twitter in September 2022.
As digital currencies continue to gain widespread acceptance, it is probable that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies will continue to focus on combating cryptocurrency-related crimes.
