The U.S. Department of Justice seized accounts belonging to HSBC suspected of laundering billions of dollars.
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The U.S. Department of Justice has seized cloud computing accounts used by HSBC Group to launder billions of dollars in proceeds from a cryptocurrency scam.
PANews reported on June 24 that, according to The Block, the U.S. Department of Justice has seized a cloud computing account used by Cambodia's Huione Group, which is accused of laundering billions of dollars in cryptocurrency fraud proceeds. The Assistant Attorney General stated that the account provided the technical support for transferring and concealing fraudulent funds through Southeast Asian fraud hubs. This operation is part of "Operation Turbulent Current," and last year the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) listed Huione Group as a top money laundering target. The statement alleges that Huione subsidiaries are suspected of assisting criminals in transferring funds from investment fraud, cyber theft, and other illicit blockchain activities, ultimately channeling them into legitimate banking systems. Much of the theft is allegedly linked to North Korea.
US Department of Justice: Two men arrested on suspicion of laundering more than $389 million through cryptocurrency.
According to Odaily Odaily, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the arrest of Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev for allegedly operating the cryptocurrency money laundering service AudiA6. Since its launch in 2021, the service has received approximately 10,333 bitcoins, with a transaction value exceeding $389 million. At least $19.234 million worth of bitcoins originated directly from illicit sources such as Dark Web markets and ransomware groups. Joint international law enforcement action has seized and frozen AudiA6's servers, domains, and Telegram accounts.
Chile has busted an $88 million cryptocurrency money laundering ring, arresting 18 suspects and freezing over 140 bank accounts.
PANews reported on June 7th, citing Bitcoin.com, that Chile has dismantled an $88 million cryptocurrency money laundering ring linked to the sanctioned Venezuelan transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua. After a two-year investigation, police arrested 18 individuals suspected of laundering money in Chile using crypto assets; these individuals were members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua group. The operation, conducted by Chilean police and the Southern Attorney General's Office, took place in three regions of Chile. During the operation, over 140 bank accounts were frozen, and $300,000 of the organization's funds were seized.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating former Congressman George Santos for insider trading on Kalshi.
PANews reported on June 3 that, according to NPR, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating former Congressman George Santos for insider trading on the prediction market Kalshi. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Santos released a video message in February indicating he would attend Trump's State of the Union address, but ultimately did not appear. Santos had previously bet that Trump would not attend, profiting tens of thousands of dollars. Kalshi detected Santos's trading, froze his accounts, and transferred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice, both of which have launched investigations against him. Santos himself denies any knowledge of any investigation. Santos was previously convicted in 2023 of 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of political contributions, and sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison, but served only four months due to a commutation by Trump last October.
The US Department of Justice extradited members of the Scattered Spider hacking group involved in a cryptocurrency ransomware attack that exceeded $100 million.
According to Mars Finance, on July 2nd, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the extradition of 19-year-old Peter Stokes, a dual U.S. and Estonian citizen, from Finland. He is accused of being a member of the hacking group Scattered Spider (also known as Octo Tempest, UNC3944, and 0ktapus). Prosecutors allege that the group committed over 100 cyber intrusions, obtaining over $100 million in cryptocurrency ransom and causing millions of dollars in business disruptions, evidence collection, and system recovery losses. The indictment states that Peter Stokes was arrested in Finland in April 2026 under an Interpol Red Notice, extradited to the United States last week, and made his first court appearance in Chicago federal court on July 1st. He currently faces multiple charges, including conspiracy, unlawful intrusion into computer systems, and fraud. Prosecutors also allege that Peter Stokes participated in an attack on a luxury jewelry retailer in May 2025, stealing company data and demanding approximately $8 million in cryptocurrency ransom. The victimized company did not pay the ransom, but still suffered losses exceeding $2 million due to business disruptions and system repairs. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that this case was part of the FBI's "Operation Riptide" operation against cybercrime, reflecting the ongoing efforts by law enforcement to strengthen international cooperation in combating ransomware and cybercrime using cryptocurrencies.
For the first time, Ukraine has placed seized crypto assets into state custody and transferred them to the ARMA wallet.
PANews reported on June 29 that, according to Decrypt, Ukrainian prosecutors have for the first time actually transferred seized crypto assets to the state asset management agency ARMA, with over 8.3 million USDT already transferred to its escrow wallet. These funds originated from a wallet belonging to a suspected member of an international hacking group accused of launching ransomware attacks against European and American companies and individuals, stealing data, and laundering money in Ukraine through the purchase of real estate and vehicles, causing losses exceeding $100 million. Currently, four suspects have been detained, and assets totaling over $11.1 million have been seized, including real estate, vehicles, approximately $1 million in cash, and crypto assets. This takeover by ARMA marks its first case involving the custody of digital assets since its 2025 reforms aimed at enhancing transparency in the management of seized assets.