Authorities seized servers of the ChipMixer crypto laundering

International law enforcement agencies conducted another successful seizure operation after they shut down the infrastructure of a cryptocurrency mixing service ‘ChipMixer.’ This malicious platform is believed to have been utilised by hackers and ransomware groups to launder profits from their campaigns.

Europol, alongside Germany’s BKA and the US’ FBI, had seized four ChipMixer servers. The authorities also collected 7TB of data from the cryptocurrency mixing service and $46.5 million worth of BTC.

Since 2017, the cryptocurrency laundering platform has been one of the most active platforms that aid malicious actors in transforming profits into untraceable chips they could convert into FIAT before cashing out.

 

A seizure banner is displayed on the website of ChipMixer upon users visiting the site.

 

Like the usual seizure operations conducted by authorities, ChipMixer’s dark web servers will now display a banner informing site visitors about the infrastructure being shut down.

Malicious actors utilise these cryptocurrency laundering platforms by sending their digital assets to a collective pool holding other users’ coins. Then, the platform will mix and shuffle all the coins through various wallet addresses, encouraging transaction anonymity.

The operation also led to the arrest of a suspected owner and main operator of the malicious platform, Minh Quốc Nguyễn, a 49-year-old individual from Hanoi, Vietnam. The accused was charged last March 15 with money laundering, running an unlicensed money transmitter, and identity theft.

In most cases, numerous cybercriminals patronise cryptocurrency mixers to evade detection from authorities. According to Europol’s published post, ChipMixer had facilitated and laundered over 152,000 BTC, estimated to convert into EUR 2.73 billion.

The agency added that most of these confiscated assets came from dark web marketplaces, stolen cryptocurrency coins, trafficking of illicit goods, ransomware operations, and purchasing sexual exploitation materials.

It is also worth noting that the crypto laundering platform had once served many prolific ransomware groups in the wild, including LockBit, SunCrypt, and Zeppelin.