Bitcoin News and Finance
Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Exchangers Sending Money to Russian Wallets Skip to main content

Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Exchangers Sending Money to Russian Wallets

Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Exchangers Sending Money to Russian Wallets

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has closed down a number of “underground” crypto exchangers in Kyiv. Officials say the platforms have been making a million dollars in monthly turnover and allegedly sending money to digital wallets operated by Russian payment providers.

Law Enforcement Busts Cryptocurrency Exchangers in Ukraine

Officers from Ukraine’s main law enforcement agency, SBU, have blocked a network of underground cryptocurrency exchangers operating out of the capital city, Kyiv. According to an announcement, the online platforms have been processing up to 30 million Ukrainian hryvnia (over $1 million) a month this year.

The exchangers allowed anonymous payments and withdrawals. Their services were mostly used by private individuals who often received funds to their electronic wallets issued by Russia-based payment service providers such as Yandex.Money, Qiwi, and Webmoney which are banned in Ukraine.

Part of the cash, the SBU claims, has been used to finance provocations on the eve of the Independence Day of Ukraine, Aug. 24. The security service believes the organizers received funding through these exchangers to pay participants in the protests. The agency detailed:

The network has been operating since the beginning of 2021. During this time, it “served” more than 1,000 “clients.”

Five raids have been conducted on addresses in the Pechersky, Shevchenkivsky, and Solomyansky districts of Kyiv, during which SBU agents have seized computers and server hardware, cellphones and mobile terminals preventing geolocation, documents of fictitious entities registered in Ukraine, and foreign cash equivalent to 1 million hryvnia (around $37,000).

Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Exchangers Sending Money to Russian Wallets
Source: SBU

The websites’ operators charged a commission of between 5 and 10% on the transferred amounts, the Security Service of Ukraine added. The investigation continues to establish any illegal conduct related to the activities of the network and the persons involved, including documents, funds, and equipment as well as money laundering.

Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Exchangers Sending Money to Russian Wallets
Source: SBU

The SBU has been targeting illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies this year and has also made some mistakes during the crackdown. In April, it exposed a group allegedly engaged in the legalization of illicit funds and their illegal transfer, Forklog noted in its report. Nikita Knysh, the CEO of Hackcontrol, said the case was about a cryptocurrency offline exchanger owned by partners of his in a different business, and called the accusations of fraud and money laundering unfounded.

In July, the security service announced it had uncovered Ukraine’s “largest illegal crypto farm” to date and confiscated around 5,000 units of hardware, including 3,800 gaming consoles and 500 video cards, from a warehouse in Vinnytsia. It was later revealed that the facility was a data center operated legally by an IT company. Ukrainian media speculated the Playstation 4 Slims from the photos released by the SBU had likely been used for gaming applications.

Do you think the crypto exchangers shut down by the SBU were operating illegally? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory