The FBI Is Searching For A Vietnamese Man Who Is Suspected Of Laundering $3 Billion In Bitcoin

Nguyen Minh Quoc, 49, of Vietnamese nationality, is needed by the FBI for alleged participation in cash laundering and id theft.

The European Union Regulation Enforcement Cooperation Company (Europol) and the USA Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) introduced that the ChipMixer web site had been taken down. There have been 1,909.4 Bitcoins among the many seized property. ChipMixer is accused of blending cryptocurrencies and helping hackers in laundering greater than $3 billion in digital cash.

In response to allegations from these two authorities, ChipMixer was fashioned in 2017 by Nguyen Minh Quoc and this particular person holds a Doctorate in cryptography from Taiwan. “Nguyen Minh Quoc is needed for his direct involvement in cash laundering and id theft whereas utilizing the companies of ChipMixer. The overwhelming majority of the funds are instantly tied to hackers using ransomware to extort victims, crypto theft, and different criminal activity “In response to the FBI’s web site. As said by the US Division of Justice, Quoc has not been apprehended since his current whereabouts is unclear. Authorities tried to contact this particular person by e-mail and thru the ChipMixer web site however obtained no response.

ChipMixer, the illicit cryptocurrency mixing engine, is alleged to have been invented and managed instantly by Nguyen Minh Quoc. As well as, the person promotes the enterprise on-line and advises customers on how one can keep away from authorized motion. ChipMixer is described as “one of many main cryptocurrency mixers on the darkish internet” by Europol. ChipMixer was used to launder roughly $844 million in Bitcoins tied to illicit exercise, based on digital forex monitoring service Elliptic. At the least $666 million of that got here from cryptocurrency thefts.

This service has additionally been utilized by ransomware assault organizations equivalent to Zeppelin, SunCrypt, Mamba, Dharma, and Lockbit to launder ransoms from victims. US officers are additionally trying into a few of the cash stolen in massive cryptocurrency trade failures in 2022.

From August 2017 to March 2023, ChipMixer was concerned in a variety of unlawful actions, together with: facilitating the laundering of $17 million in Bitcoin in ransomware assaults; laundering over $700 million in Bitcoin for wallets containing funds stolen from the Ronin (Axie Infinity) and Concord Horizon bridge hacks; and laundering over $200 million in Bitcoin related to the darknet and different organizations. ChipMixer was beforehand recognized by police in 2019 when it assisted hackers in laundering at the least 4,836 Bitcoins stolen from the Binance trade.

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