Authorities Shut $390 Million Crypto Money-Laundering Scheme in International Sting Operation

An international crackdown on law enforcement involving 11 nations has shut down AudiA6, a group engaged in money laundering worth more than $390 million (roughly Rs. 3,709 crore) from the period of 2022 to 2025. As per the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), two administrators, both Russian and Ukrainian nationals, were arrested in Georgia. 25 domains, over 30 servers, and 80 automobiles were confiscated, and about $900,000 (roughly Rs. 8.6 crore) worth of cryptocurrencies were frozen.

Investigators Link AudiA6 Service to Ransomware and Illicit Crypto Transfers

AudiA6 "mixer-as-a-service" was used by ransomware actors who were involved in launching attacks and earning illegal revenues from stolen cryptos by providing their victims with a service to help them "clean" their cryptos in exchange for a fee of 3 percent to 10 percent within one hour. According to a report by Chainalysis, the AudiA6 wallet has received about 10,333 BTC worth of nearly $389 million (roughly Rs. 3,614 crore) since 2021. 

The criminal group responsible for the service is also allegedly operating an additional forum under the name “Dark2Web”, which acts as a platform for advertising illegal services as well as communicating with other cyber criminals globally, says Eurojust. The investigation involved different agencies from different countries, such as the US, Australia, France, Poland, Georgia, Iceland, Canada, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK, coordinating through Eurojust and Europol. 

This criminal money-laundering scheme involved the creation of numerous fake accounts based on stolen identities or purchased identities. “Over 6,000 KYC files associated with ‘money mule' accounts have been uncovered in the course of the investigations,” as per Eurojust. Additionally, numerous accounts were associated with Russian-speaking intermediaries who were used to facilitate transfers via the crypto exchange services.

Before this, in April, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Dubai Police, also revealed an international crackdown on scam rings, which led to the arrest of 276 individuals and the shutdown of at least nine crypto scam centres. Four of the defendants and two fugitive co-conspirators were charged with federal fraud and money laundering in federal court in San Diego, as per the DOJ. Each charge carried a potential 20-year prison sentence and severe penalties if convicted.