German law enforcement agencies recently conducted a large-scale operation under the code name “Exchange,” which resulted in the shutdown of 47 illegal cryptocurrency exchangers. These platforms were found to be providing services for the exchange of digital assets without adhering to mandatory customer identification procedures, creating favorable conditions for money laundering.
The Federal Department of the German Criminal Police (BKA) revealed that the seized exchangers played a crucial role in the process of legitimizing funds obtained through criminal activities. The clients of these services included hacker groups involved in extortion through ransomware, traders of illicit goods on the darknet, and operators of botnets.
Upon attempting to access the websites of the closed exchangers, users are now redirected to a warning page indicating that law enforcement agencies have gained full access to the servers of these platforms, including operational, test, and backup servers. The police now possess data on transactions, user registrations, and IP addresses.
The largest among the closed exchangers were xchange.cash with over 410,000 users and 1,280,000 transactions, 60CEK.org with more than 300,000 users and 900,000 transactions, bankcomat.com with over 250,000 users and 760,000 transactions, banksman.com with more than 280,000 users and 750,000 transactions, prostocash.cash with over 265,000 users and 470,000 transactions, and multichange.net with more than 185,000 users and 430,000 transactions.
Investigators have pointed out that the operators of these platforms deceived customers for years by guaranteeing complete anonymity in their operations. However, all data was meticulously stored and will now be used to identify and hold accountable those involved in illegal activities.
The operators of the closed exchangers may face criminal charges for money laundering and operating illegal trading platforms online. German laws prescribe imprisonment for up to several years for such offenses.
Although the operation was successful, no arrests have been reported yet. Law enforcement officers acknowledge that many cybercriminals identified are shielded in their home countries, making prosecution more challenging.
The closure of a significant number of illegal crypto exchangers is expected to deal a severe blow to cybercrime infrastructure. Nonetheless, experts caution that new platforms may emerge to replace the shut down ones, potentially employing more sophisticated methods to conceal their activities.