Ukraine shuts down crypto exchangers that send money to Russian wallets – bitcoin news

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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has shut down a number of “underground” crypto exchangers in Kiev. Officials say the platforms have a monthly turnover of $ 1 million and have reportedly sent money to digital wallets operated by Russian payment providers.

Law enforcement destroys cryptocurrency exchangers in Ukraine

Agents from Ukraine’s main law enforcement agency, SBU, have blocked a network of underground cryptocurrency exchangers operating out of the capital, Kiev. According to an announcement, online platforms have processed up to 30 million Ukrainian hryvnias (over $ 1 million) per month this year.

The exchangers allowed anonymous payments and withdrawals. Their services were primarily used by individuals who often received funds on their e-wallets issued by Russia-based payment service providers such as Yandex.Money, Qiwi, and Webmoney, which are banned in Ukraine.

Some of the money, the SBU claims, was used to fund provocations on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, August 24. The security service believes that the organizers received funds through these exchangers to pay participants in the protests. The agency detailed:

The network has been in operation since the start of 2021. During that time, it has “served” over 1,000 “customers”.

Five searches were carried out on addresses in the Pechersky, Shevchenkivsky and Solomyansky districts of Kiev, during which SBU agents seized computers and server equipment, cell phones and mobile terminals preventing geolocation, documents fictitious entities registered in Ukraine and foreign cash equivalent to 1 million hryvnia (approximately $ 37,000).

Source: SBU

Operators of the websites took a commission of between 5 and 10% on the transferred amounts, the Ukrainian Security Service added. The investigation continues to establish any illegal behavior related to the activities of the network and those involved, including documents, funds and equipment as well as money laundering.

Source: SBU

The SBU has targeted illegal cryptocurrency-related activity this year and also made mistakes during the crackdown. In April, he denounced a group allegedly engaged in legalizing illicit funds and their illegal transfer, Forklog noted in his report. Nikita Knysh, CEO of Hackcontrol, said the case involved an offline cryptocurrency exchanger owned by its partners in another company, and called the accusations of fraud and money laundering baseless.

In July, the security service announced that it had uncovered Ukraine’s “largest illegal crypto farm” to date and confiscated around 5,000 units of hardware, including 3,800 game consoles and 500 video cards, from a warehouse in Vinnytsia. It was later revealed that the facility was a data center legally operated by an IT company. Ukrainian media speculated that the Playstation 4 Slims from the photos released by the SBU were probably used for gaming applications.

Do you think the crypto exchangers shut down by the SBU were operating illegally? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Tags in This Story Crackdown, Crypto, Crypto Exchangers, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, Digital Wallets, Electronic Wallets, Electronic Wallets, Exchangers, Funds, Investigation, kiev, Money Laundering, Agents, Payment Providers, Protests , raids, Russia, Russian, SBU, security service, transactions, transfers, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Wallets

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