Russian Charged With Laundering Ransomware Proceeds in Crypto Pleads Guilty in US

A Russian nationwide accused of processing cryptocurrency funds from ransomware assaults has pleaded responsible to cash laundering within the United States. The man who was extradited from the Netherlands in mid-August, final yr, can be sentenced in April.

Russian Crypto Launderer Pleads Guilty in US Court, May Get Up to twenty Years in Prison

An alleged cash launderer from Russia has pleaded responsible to at least one depend of conspiracy to commit cash laundering within the United States. 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 nations between at the least August 2018 and August 2021, in line with courtroom paperwork, quoted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon. They made numerous monetary transactions to hide the supply and possession of the digital cash.

“Specifically, in July 2019, a United States-based company paid a 250 bitcoin Ryuk ransom after a ransomware attack. On or about July 11, 2019, in Moscow, Russia, Dubnikov accepted 35 bitcoin from a co-conspirator in exchange for approximately $400,000,” detailed an announcement revealed Tuesday.

The cryptocurrency got here instantly 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 yuan. Dubnikov’s co-conspirators laundered extra bitcoin and compensated him for his function.

Denis Dubnikov can 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 kind of software program that encrypts recordsdata on the focused group’s computer systems. First recognized in 2018, the ransomware has been used in opposition to victims throughout the globe and from numerous sectors, together with hospitals and healthcare suppliers within the United States. According to a latest report by blockchain forensics agency Chainalysis, revenue from ransomware assaults has decreased.

Do you suppose circumstances like Dubnikov’s will end in an additional drop in ransomware funds? Share your ideas on the topic within the feedback part beneath.