FBI Disbands $20 Million Crypto Laundering Operation

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Targeting criminals through dark web marketplaces, Anurag Pramod Murarka laundered $20 million using cryptocurrency.

The United States has sentenced a 30-year-old Indian national to 121 months in federal incarceration for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Anurag Pramod Murarka, who operated under the aliases “elonmuskwhm” and “la2nyc,” conducted an international money laundering enterprise.

Murarka conducted operations from April 2021 until his arrest on September 29, 2023, according to a Justice Department statement. He employed cryptocurrency to conceal criminal proceeds, thereby laundering more than $20 million.

Criminals were the primary focus of Murarka’s operation. Murarka utilized dark web marketplaces to advertise his services as a method of money laundering. He provided consumers with the opportunity to exchange cryptocurrency for cash.

Murarka established an exchange rate and instructed clients to transmit their cryptocurrency to designated addresses after they contacted him. Subsequently, he spearheaded an intricate hawala operation. Hawala is a conventional South Asian method of transmitting money that does not involve physical movement.

Murarka’s team employed a variety of methods to bundle the misappropriated funds, such as concealing currency between book pages or securely securing it in multiple containers before sending it to customers.

Law enforcement’s most recent initiative successfully averted numerous financial account seizures. This led to the confiscation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, millions of dollars in criminal proceeds, and over $1.4 million.

“The defendant aided numerous other criminals in their efforts to conceal the proceeds of illicit drug sales and stolen money by utilizing the internet.” “This case underscores the global reach of cybercrime and the necessity of collaboration and diligence in the fight against money laundering,” stated Carlton S. Shier, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Murarka is required to serve 85% of his penitentiary sentence in accordance with federal law. The US Probation Office will supervise him for a period of three years following his release from prison.

Moreover, the announcement coincides with the indictment of nine individuals by a Florida jury in November for the laundering of drug cartel funds through cryptocurrency from 2020 to 2023. The group converted US drug transaction proceeds to cryptocurrency and transferred it to cartel-linked wallets in Mexico and Colombia.

In the same vein, the United States prosecuted two Russian nationals in September for the laundering of $1.15 billion in illicit crypto for cybercriminals.

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