In brief – Two individuals believed to be senior members of AudiA6’s money laundering organization were arrested in the Republic of Georgia. – The individuals are allegedly responsible for laundering some $389 million in Bitcoin linked to criminal activities. – The coordinated…
vestigation led to blocked Telegram accounts, seized crypto, and a seizure notice on the group’s website. Two individuals allegedly responsible for the laundering of more than $389 million worth of Bitcoin for the AudiA6 crypto money laundering organization were arrested and charged in the Republic of Georgia on Wednesday
The pair, Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk, 37, and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, 25, were both charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and one count of sting money laundering as part of an international takedown of the AudiA6 organization, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said. “The criminal complaint in this case alleges that Tkachuk and Ledenev are senior members of the AudiA6 organization, who manage the cryptocurrency money laundering service and the Dark2Web cybercrime forum,” the Attorney’s Office wrote. According to the complaint, the AudiA6 scheme advertised an offer to “conceal and disguise the source” of customer’s crypto assets that could otherwise be linked to criminal sources.
In return, the organization took a 5% fee from the laundered funds. They were apprehended following a parallel investigation from the U.S. Secret Service, IRS, and law enforcement agencies in Australia, Germany, Japan, and other nations.