{"id":621,"date":"2024-04-29T04:11:16","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T04:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptd.in\/co-founders-of-crypto-mixing-service-face-money-laundering-charge-following-arrest\/"},"modified":"2024-04-29T04:11:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T04:11:16","slug":"co-founders-of-crypto-mixing-service-face-money-laundering-charge-following-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptd.in\/lt\/co-founders-of-crypto-mixing-service-face-money-laundering-charge-following-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-Founders of Crypto Mixing Service Face Money Laundering Charge Following Arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"

United States prosecutors have alleged that two co-founders developed a crypto mining service called Samourai Wallet that conducted unlawful transactions worth $2 billion.<\/p>\n

The co-founders each face charges of money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting business, with the former carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.<\/p>\n

Samourai Wallet Allegedly a \u2018Safe Haven\u2019 for Criminals<\/h2>\n

According to a press release<\/a> by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office of the Southern District of New York, executives of Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez and chief technology officer William Lonergan Hill, who both double as co-founders, were arrested on April 24, 2024.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez was apprehended in the United States, while Hill\u2019s detention happened in Portugal, with the press release stating that the US will seek his extradition.<\/p>\n

In addition, authorities seized Samourai\u2019s domain and servers, with the application no longer available for download in the United States, after a seizure warrant was issued on the Google Play Store. Before the seizure, the Samourai mobile app had over 100,000 downloads.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez and Hill developed and operated Samourai between 2015 and 2024, which had two features \u2013 a cryptocurrency mixer called Whirlpool and a hopping service called Ricochet.<\/p>\n

As alleged by prosecutors, both features helped to obfuscate the source of criminal proceeds, serving as a \u201csafe haven\u201d for criminals looking to launder illicit funds. Prosecutors further claimed that the defendants \u201cintended and well knew, a substantial portion of the funds that Samourai processed were criminal proceeds passed through Samourai for purposes of concealment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through Whirlpool and Ricochet, Samourai reportedly executed more than $2 billion worth of unlawful transactions and laundered $100 million in crime proceeds from illegal dark web markets.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Rodriguez and Hill, through tweets and private messages, allegedly \u201cencouraged and openly invited users to launder criminal proceeds\u201d using Samourai. The executives made $4.5 million in fees from Whirlpool and Ricochet, as stated in the press release.<\/p>\n

US Authorities Intensify Crackdown on Crypto Mixers<\/h2>\n

Rodriguez and Hill are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, with each of the charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and five years, respectively.<\/p>\n

According to a statement from James Smith, the FBI Assistant Director in Charge:<\/p>\n

\u201cThreat actors utilize technology to evade law enforcement detection and create environments conducive to criminal activity.\u00a0 For almost 10 years, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill allegedly operated a mobile cryptocurrency mixing platform which provided other criminals a virtual haven for the clandestine exchange of illicit funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US government continues to crackdown on crypto mixers, which is believed to be used by notorious criminal elements such as Lazarus Group, for money laudering.<\/p>\n

In March, federal prosecutors scored a victory against Roman Sterlingov, operator of the crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog. Sterlingov was found guilty<\/a> of charges relating to money laundering.<\/p>\n

Other cryptocurrency mixers such as Tornado Cash and Blender.io were previously sanctioned<\/a> by the United States Department of the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), with the executives of the former accused of laundering<\/a> over $1 billion.<\/p>\n

Prane\u0161imas Co-Founders of Crypto Mixing Service Face Money Laundering Charge Following Arrest<\/a> appeared first on CryptoPotato<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

United States prosecutors have alleged that two co-founders developed a crypto mining service called Samourai Wallet that conducted unlawful transactions worth $2 billion. The co-founders each face charges of money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting business, with the former carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Samourai Wallet Allegedly a \u2018Safe Haven\u2019 for Criminals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feeds"],"yoast_head":"\nCo-Founders of Crypto Mixing Service Face Money Laundering Charge Following Arrest - cryptd.in<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptd.in\/lt\/co-founders-of-crypto-mixing-service-face-money-laundering-charge-following-arrest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"lt_LT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Co-Founders of Crypto Mixing Service Face Money Laundering Charge Following Arrest - cryptd.in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"United States prosecutors have alleged that two co-founders developed a crypto mining service called Samourai Wallet that conducted unlawful transactions worth $2 billion. 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