Crypto Crime News

A UK court has ordered the seizure of approximately $4.3 million in Bitcoin from Alexander Surin, a notorious crime boss known as “Don Car-Leone,” after he failed to demonstrate that the crypto assets were acquired through legitimate means.

In 2024, Kazakhstan intensified its efforts to tackle money laundering by shutting down 36 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges, a sharp decline of 96% compared to the previous year.

Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch has launched a ₹600 crore ($69.9 million) recovery fund to assist users impacted by the July 2024 WazirX security breach.

U.S. prosecutors have revealed that the collapse of Terraform Labs’ TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies may have impacted over one million individuals and entities worldwide.

Crypto lawyer and XRP advocate John Deaton has issued a cautionary message to investors about the increasing prevalence of scams targeting the digital asset industry.

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, appeared in a U.S. federal court on January 2, 2025, marking his first legal proceeding since being extradited from Montenegro.

Radiant Capital, a cross-chain lending protocol, is currently grappling with the aftermath of a major security breach that resulted in the loss of millions in funds.

Stephen Akridge, co-founder of Solana, is being sued by his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, who claims he misappropriated millions in cryptocurrency from her wallet.

The rise of cryptocurrency in France has unfortunately also fueled a surge in financial scams, leaving regulators and authorities scrambling to protect the public.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is set to be extradited to the United States, marking a decisive turn in the prolonged legal saga following the collapse of LUNA and UST tokens.

A hacker has been using a deceptive strategy to gain control of high-profile accounts on X, the social media platform, and is using them to push a fake memecoin.

In May 2024, a massive hack targeted the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM, resulting in the theft of over $300 million in Bitcoin.

Hyperliquid Labs, the developer behind the HYPE token, has addressed recent claims alleging the involvement of North Korean hackers in a cyberattack against its platform.

Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Richard James Schueler, known in the cryptocurrency world as Richard Heart, the founder of HEX and PulseChain.

Nearly six years after Cryptopia’s infamous 2019 hack, liquidators have begun compensating the platform’s affected users.

UK judge sentenced self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright to a year in prison for contempting the court.

A South Korean politician has been sentenced to prison for hiding millions in cryptocurrency during his time in office.

The U.S. Treasury Department has targeted a North Korean crypto money laundering scheme, imposing sanctions on individuals and entities in the UAE.

A man posing as an Uber driver in the United States has been arrested after allegedly stealing around $300,000 worth of cryptocurrency from two unsuspecting passengers.

A Bitcoin investor from Texas has become the first person charged with criminal tax evasion related to cryptocurrency transactions.

On October 16, 2024, Radiant Capital, a decentralized lending protocol, suffered a major security breach, resulting in a $50 million loss.

A significant security breach recently rocked the Dogecoin network, with a hacker successfully exploiting a vulnerability that led to 69% of its nodes going offline.

A recent theft involving Coinbase Commerce has been uncovered by crypto investigator ZachXBT, revealing that over $15.9 million worth of USDC was stolen from a vendor.

Roni Cohen-Pavon, formerly the chief revenue officer at Celsius, will not face sentencing this week as initially scheduled.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on several individuals and entities tied to a Russian money laundering operation that utilized Tether (USDT) and other cryptocurrencies for illicit transactions.

A prominent cryptocurrency platform has suffered a major cyberattack, leading to a $50 million theft on October 16, 2024.

A Russian national linked to the now-defunct WEX cryptocurrency exchange has been arrested in Poland on charges related to fraud and money laundering.

Crypto sleuth Coffeezilla has pushed back against the spread of misinformation surrounding the recent memecoin launch by influencer Hailey Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah.”

French authorities are delving into accusations against Telegram founder Pavel Durov, alleging the platform’s involvement in facilitating criminal activities.

David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez, the masterminds behind the IcomTech cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, have been sentenced to 10 and 8 years in prison, respectively.

The founder of the darknet marketplace Hydra, Stanislav Moiseev, has been sentenced to life in prison by a Moscow court for his involvement in a range of criminal activities.

Alex Mashinsky, the co-founder of Celsius Network, has admitted to charges of fraud related to his role in the company’s downfall.

DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, is shutting down after failing to recover from a May hack that saw over $320 million in Bitcoin stolen.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken legal action against Touzi Capital and its CEO, Eng Taing, over allegations of a $115 million fraud scheme that deceived over 1,500 investors across the country.

Cybercriminals targeting cryptocurrencies continue to undermine the industry’s credibility, with nearly $1.5 billion stolen through cyberattacks so far in 2024.

A former senior employee of Binance Europe has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming she was wrongfully terminated after blowing the whistle on an alleged bribery incident.

A cryptocurrency exchange was hit by a suspected hack that led to the theft of $1.7 million, prompting the platform to suspend withdrawals.

The increasing popularity of cryptocurrency continues to present attractive investment opportunities, but it has also opened doors for fraudsters targeting inexperienced investors.

SerpentAU, an Australian Fortnite YouTuber once admired for his gaming skills, is now implicated in a $3.5 million crypto fraud involving meme coin scams.

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency trading, even minor mistakes can lead to significant financial losses.

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and CEO of Gemini, is calling for a renewed investigation into a dropped charge involving FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), despite his recent 25-year sentence.

A new and alarming trend has emerged in the cryptocurrency world: the first reported case of AI poisoning. In this incident, a Solana wallet was compromised, resulting in a theft of approximately $2,500.

Crypto phishing scams have become a lucrative business, with attackers reportedly making tens of thousands of dollars weekly by impersonating Coinbase support and exploiting leaked data.

South Korea has confirmed that North Korea orchestrated the 2019 theft of 342,000 Ethereum (ETH) tokens from Upbit, initially worth $41.5 million and now valued at 1.47 trillion Won.

Yao Qian, a prominent figure in China’s blockchain and digital currency sector, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from his public office.

Five individuals have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with a cybercrime operation that allegedly resulted in the theft of $6.3 million worth of cryptocurrency and unauthorized access to confidential corporate data.

Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has issued a stern warning about the growing threat of money laundering in the cryptocurrency industry.

On November 20, 2024, Zixiao “Gary” Wang, co-founder of FTX, became the final executive to receive a sentence related to the exchange’s notorious collapse in 2022.

Logan Paul, a popular social media figure, is under scrutiny for allegedly profiting from cryptocurrency promotions without revealing his financial ties, as reported by the BBC.

The founder of a cryptocurrency trading platform is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly using corrupt Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies to carry out a series of extortion and other criminal activities.

Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of the Helix Bitcoin laundering service, was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison for his involvement in laundering over $300 million worth of Bitcoin for darknet drug markets.

Ilya Lichtenstein, one of the individuals involved in the notorious 2016 Bitfinex hack, was recently sentenced to five years in prison following his conviction on charges of money laundering.

Shane Coplan, CEO of decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, believes the recent FBI search of his devices may have political motives.

Kevin Mirshahi, a Montreal-based crypto influencer, was tragically found dead after being kidnapped in June.

As crypto investments surge, so do scams, with fraudsters exploiting people’s hopes for quick profits.

Bankrupt crypto company FTX has filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpen Zhao, seeking to recover $1.76 billion.

A Chinese government employee, referred to as Wang, has received a life sentence for espionage after being convicted of leaking state secrets to a foreign operative.

North Korean hackers, under the BlueNoroff subgroup of the Lazarus Group, have escalated their cyberattacks, shifting from social media manipulation to targeted phishing emails in their ‘Hidden Risk’ campaign.

The CEO of Canadian crypto firm WonderFi Technologies, Dean Skurka, was reportedly abducted in downtown Toronto during rush hour on November 6 and forced to pay a $1 million ransom to secure his freedom, according to a CBC report from November 7.

Chinese authorities recently dismantled a large money-laundering network in Beijing, uncovering approximately 800 million yuan ($111.36 million) in cryptocurrency transactions tied to telecom scams and online gambling.