Russian companies linked to cybercrime money laundering named

What’s new? A new report by the analytical company Chainalysis says that the analysts have tracked down several dozen Russian firms linked to cybercrime money laundering. These companies received “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of cryptocurrency each quarter from 2019 to 2021, with the total amount reaching $1,2 billion in the second quarter of last year.

Chainalysis’s report

What did Chainalysis find? The analysts found that a large half of the suspicious firms are located in Moscow City, mainly in the Federation Tower. During the study period, these companies received around $700 million in revenue. Most of it came from scams ($313 million), darknet ($296 million), and ransomware ($38 million).

Which organizations are named in the report? The company has identified several major firms associated with cybercrime money laundering. Bitzlato was the largest in terms of money laundering, with more than $966 million. Chainalysis claims that this amount represents half of all cryptocurrencies that have passed through the company.

Garantex is in second place, with $645 million in black cryptocurrency passed through it, 31% of the total volume. The company received more than $10 million from ransomware operators NetWalker, Phoenix Cryptolocker, and Conti.

The third was Eggchange. The company laundered more than $3,7 million related to illegal transactions. The exchange’s co-founder Denis Dubnikov is suspected of laundering money for Ryuk, the extortionist. Chainalysis also noted other similar companies such as Buy-bitcoin, Tetchange, Cashbank, and Suex.

What do analysts say about the situation in Russia? According to Chainalysis, the Russian cybercrime organizations are among the largest globally. However, the analysts noted that the country’s cryptocurrency ecosystem may see changes, especially in the area of security. The company’s report also mentioned that the Federal Security Service has arrested 14 hackers from the REvil group. Chainalysis hopes to cooperate with the Russian law enforcement agencies.