Law enforcement has seized the servers and domains of the E-Note cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly used by cybercriminal groups to launder more than $70 million.
It is believed that the funds originated from ransomware and account takeover attacks, and were subsequently funneled through an international network of “money mules.”
“Since 2017, the FBI identified more than $70,000,000 of illicit proceeds of ransomware attacks and account takeovers transferred via E-Note payment service and money mule network, including laundered funds stolen or extorted from U.S. victims,” reads the Department of Justice announcement.
International partners (the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation and the German Police), along with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Michigan State police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, confiscated the domains e-note.com, e-note.ws, and jabb.mn, and took down the mobile apps associated with them.
Source: BleepingComputer
Law enforcement agents also seized servers hosting the platform and its mobile applications, as well as copies of customer databases and transaction records.
It is important to note that operators of some illegal services build mobile apps as an alternative communication channel between customers and vendors. The purpose is to offer increased privacy and hinder law enforcement tracking.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has unsealed an indictment against Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, 39, a Russian national believed to be the operator of E-Note, charging him with one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Chudnovets began offering money-laundering services to cybercriminals in 2010, facilitating the transfer of funds across countries and converting cryptocurrency proceeds into fiat currency.
No arrests have been made, but Chudnovets now faces 20 years in prison.
The seizure of client database and transaction details may lead to the identification of more cybercriminals and users of the E-Note service, and may help law enforcement with future actions.
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