Tagged: crypto crime

November 9, 2025 @ 10:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past week, Eurojust announced the results of an international operation that has been credited with dismantling a transnational criminal network, which is said to have been behind one of the largest crypto investment fraud schemes uncovered to date. TRM Labs noted in an extensive… Read More

November 2, 2025 @ 12:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Global law-enforcement officials and financial-crime experts said authorities must move faster and set clearer, common rules to curb crypto-enabled crime, as the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Crypto-assets closed in Vienna this week. The two-day meeting, co-organised by Europol, the UN Office on… Read More

October 13, 2025 @ 8:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

This past month, Brazil’s Polícia Federal launched Operation Lusocoin, which is described by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs as a sweeping investigation into a rather sophisticated criminal network that has been accused of laundering billions of reais via various cryptocurrency transactions. TRM Labs recently revealed… Read More

October 8, 2025 @ 11:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Elliptic analysis reveals that North Korea-linked hackers have reportedly stolen over $2 billion in crypto-assets so far this year, which is said to be the largest annual total on record, with around 3 months still to go before 2025 comes to an end. But to… Read More

October 6, 2025 @ 2:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

According to available data, Regtech firm SlowMist noted that the MistTrack Team received a total of 317 stolen fund reports during the third quarter of this year, which reportedly includes 245 local submissions as well as 72 different international submissions. The team has now provided… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency’s rise as a global financial tool has brought both tech advancements and challenges, with illicit actors exploiting its decentralized and permissionless nature. As noted in an update from Chainalysis, recent enforcement actions underscore a concerted international effort to combat crypto-enabled crime, from pig butchering… Read More

August 12, 2025 @ 3:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The cryptocurrency sector in 2025 has matured significantly, offering opportunities for growth while serving as a breeding ground for sophisticated financial crimes. As scams and money laundering tactics evolve, compliance professionals face mounting challenges in safeguarding platforms and users. A recent report from Elliptic, a… Read More

August 3, 2025 @ 9:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Telegram’s May 2025 ban on two major illicit cryptocurrency marketplaces, Huione Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee, has disrupted Southeast Asia’s guarantee services ecosystem, though it has not eradicated it. According to a July 29, 2025, report by TRM Labs, these platforms, which facilitated over $35 billion… Read More

July 27, 2025 @ 5:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this year, the cryptocurrency space was negatively impacted by the collapse of CBEX, a supposed trading platform that defrauded investors of nearly $1 billion. As detailed in Elliptic’s blog post, part of their 2025 State of Cross-Chain Crime report, CBEX’s downfall exposed the sophisticated… Read More

June 10, 2025 @ 4:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In an international operation codenamed Operation RapTor, U.S. and Taiwanese law enforcement reportedly dismantled Incognito Market – a notorious darknet marketplace “that facilitated over $100 million in illegal drug sales.” Binance‘s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) played “a pivotal role in helping bring the platform’s operators… Read More

June 1, 2025 @ 5:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In 2024, the cryptocurrency industry witnessed an unprecedented surge in scams, with revenues potentially reaching a record-breaking $12.4 billion, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the proliferation of “pig butchering” scams have significantly contributed to this alarming trend,… Read More

May 27, 2025 @ 7:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a report titled All Roads Lead to China, TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, has unveiled the intricate web of Chinese underground banking networks that have emerged as the financial linchpin of global illicit activities. These networks, leveraging both traditional and modern financial mechanisms,… Read More

May 21, 2025 @ 10:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged New York City-based Unicoin, Inc. and three of its top executives—CEO and Board Chairman Alex Konanykhin; Silvina Moschini, former president, former board chairwoman, and current board member; and former Chief Investment Officer Alex Dominguez—for “false and misleading statements… Read More

May 20, 2025 @ 2:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The cryptocurrency boom has minted a new class of ultra-wealthy investors and executives, but their digital fortunes are increasingly attracting dangerous attention. As bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies surge in value, criminals are increasingly targeting crypto elites with violent tactics, prompting a surge in demand for… Read More

May 14, 2025 @ 10:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has exposed Xinbi Guarantee, a Colorado-registered company operating a Telegram-based black market that has facilitated $8.4 billion in illicit cryptocurrency transactions since 2022. This Chinese-language platform, masquerading as an “investment and capital guarantee group,” has become a hub for Southeast Asian… Read More

May 9, 2025 @ 7:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on May 8, 2025, for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that defrauded investors of billions. The sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan’s Southern District,… Read More

May 1, 2025 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to face relentless challenges from hacks, scams, and sophisticated laundering operations, with 2025 already marking a grim milestone in crypto crime. According to detailed research reports from Immunefi, Elliptic, and Chainalysis, the scale of financial losses and illicit activity in the… Read More

January 25, 2025 @ 12:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, a French cryptocurrency hardware wallet company, was recently the victim of a kidnapping incident in central France. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that Balland was abducted on January 21 and held captive until his release on January 22, following a… Read More

November 19, 2024 @ 1:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ilya Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months for his alleged role in laundering more than 120,000 Bitcoin, which was reportedly stolen from the crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016. This was the sentence recommended by Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney Jessica Peck. Lichtenstein’s wife, Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, is… Read More

November 18, 2024 @ 8:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Gurvais Grigg, a former Special Agent and senior executive for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with 30+ years of public and private sector experience, is now serving as the Global Public Sector CTO at Chainalysis, where his work assists law enforcement (LE) and other… Read More