US Justice Department unseals warrant to seize millions in crypto from alleged ransomeware operator

The U.S. Justice Department unsealed warrants to seize $2.8 million in cryptocurrency from a wallet controlled by someone accused of deploying ransomware to steal data and then demand payment.

The DOJ said those warrants were unsealed in district courts in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Central District of California, and the Northern District of Texas. In all, the warrants allow prosecutors to seize crypto, $70,000 in cash, as well as a luxury car, according to a statement on Thursday. 

Prosecutors say Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko targeted people, businesses, and organizations globally using ransomware and would withdraw their data and often "demand a ransom payment to "decrypt the victim’s data, refrain from publishing it, or to arrange the data’s deletion."

Money was then laundered a few ways, including using crypto mixing service ChipMixer, prosecutors alleged. That mixer was taken down in 2023 and its operator was charged with money laundering.

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