British intelligence services uncovered a large-scale cryptocurrency laundering scheme
British intelligence services uncovered a large-scale money laundering scheme that operated between London, Moscow and Dubai. This network, with the help of cryptocurrencies, allowed Russian spies and European drug traffickers to circumvent international sanctions. About this reported edition of the Financial Times.
The illegal network spanned more than 30 countries and was used to finance a variety of criminal groups, including extortion, and to support Russian espionage operations between late 2022 and summer 2023. The investigation showed how economic sanctions pushed states like Russia to cooperate with organized crime to maintain their presence in the West.
The mechanism of operation of the scheme consisted in the use of couriers who collected cash from criminals, for example in the UK, in exchange for cryptocurrency, mainly Tether. After that, the money was laundered through a network of companies, and the equivalent amount in cryptocurrency became available in another country. This approach made it possible to simultaneously launder stolen cryptocurrency and gain access to cash, which helped circumvent Western sanctions.
According to the UK’s National Crime Agency, Tether has supplanted Bitcoin as the “primary cryptocurrency for criminal operations” due to its peg to the US dollar, which ensures value stability. The investigation resulted in the arrest of 84 people and the seizure of £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency. Five individuals and several companies that participated in the scheme were added to the US sanctions list.
