DOJ shuts down ChipMixer over $3B of cryptocurrency cash laundering

The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) has shut down the Bitcoin mixing service ChipMixer, as introduced in a press release on March 15.

ChipMixer dealt with $3 billion of illicit crypto

The DOJ stated that ChipMixer has been used to launder greater than $3 billion of illicit cryptocurrency transactions since August 2017.

That whole consists of $17 million of ransomware transactions, $200 million of darknet market transactions, $35 million of transfers tied to fraudulent knowledge gross sales, and an unspecified quantity of transactions tied to a state-backed Russian malware marketing campaign.

The DOJ additionally famous that the platform has been used to deal with $700 million in connection to 2 blockchain “heists” in opposition to Ronin Bridge and Horizon Bridge.

Legislation enforcement within the U.S. seized two internet domains that directed guests to ChipMixer and one GitHub account that hosted undertaking code. Police in Germany moreover seized the undertaking’s back-end servers and $46 million price of cryptocurrency.

One particular person charged in case

One particular person — Vietnam resident Minh Quốc Nguyễn — has been charged within the case.

Nguyễn launched ChipMixer in 2017 and paid for the companies essential to run the platform through the use of faux identities. He additionally promoted the service on-line and advocated in opposition to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) measures.

He now faces fees of cash laundering, id theft, and working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise.

Nguyễn has been charged in Philadelphia. He doubtlessly faces 40 years in jail.

Actions in opposition to different coin mixers

U.S. authorities have additionally taken measures in opposition to different coin mixers. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the Ethereum-based coin mixer Tornado Cash in August 2022.

Previous to that, the Treasury sanctioned a lesser-known mixer known as Blender in Might 2022. Latest experiences from blockchain surveillance agency Elliptic counsel that the platform may have been rebranded with the intention to function beneath the identify Sinbad.

Although coin mixers are used for unlawful actions, enforcement actions have been met with controversy as a consequence of the truth that mixers have respectable privateness purposes.