Two Russians Charged in US for Massive Money Laundering Schemes

The United States has filed charges against two Russian men, Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov, for allegedly running billion-dollar money laundering services. Ivanov is known to have been active for nearly two decades, while Shakhmametov ran a notorious cybercriminal marketplace called Joker’s Stash, which made hundreds of millions from stolen payment card information. Neither man is in US custody, and the State Department is offering a $10 million reward for their arrest or conviction. The indictment includes charges of bank fraud and money laundering-related crimes. Shakhmametov was also charged with accessing stolen payment card data. The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Ivanov and Cryptex, a cryptocurrency exchange linked to hundreds of millions in cybercrime. Authorities seized web domains associated with these services.

The duo is accused of operating “carding” websites that sell stolen credit and debit card information from tens of millions of Americans. Millions in ransomware payments and darknet drug sales allegedly flowed through crypto accounts tied to Ivanov’s services. This action coincides with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with US leaders to discuss support against Russia’s war on Ukraine. The US has long urged Russia to crack down on its cybercriminals, with little success. Despite a brief period of optimism when Russian authorities detained a ransomware suspect in January 2022, hopes faded after Russia invaded Ukraine the following month. Joker’s Stash was once dominant in the Russian-speaking criminal underground, advertising stolen data from US corporations. After servers were seized, the forum shut down in 2021, but the hunt for Shakhmametov and Ivanov continues.

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