[NEWS] German authorities shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges in a crackdown on cybercrime

Germany's Central Office for Internet Crime Prevention (ZIT) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) announced that they have closed 47 cryptocurrency exchanges that were used for criminal purposes.

These platforms did not implement anti-money laundering measures and allowed cybercriminals to exchange crypto assets without identity verification.

The closures are the result of a series of investigations targeting major cybercrime networks.

The authorities plan to conduct further investigations based on the seized user and transaction data.

In a statement, the Frankfurt am Main Prosecutor's Office and the BKA pointed out that "47 exchanges in Germany that were used for criminal purposes were closed. These were platforms where fiat currency could be exchanged for crypto assets. In particular, these exchanges allowed exchanges without registration procedures or identity verification (the know-your-customer principle)."

He further stated, "Exchange services that enable such specific financial transactions, and therefore money laundering, are one of the most important components in the criminal value chain of cybercrime. Among their users are ransomware groups, darknet dealers, and botnet operators, who use these services to bring extorted ransoms and other criminal proceeds into the normal currency cycle and use the funds obtained through criminal means for the next crime."

Cybercriminals were able to launder their profits by using these cryptocurrency exchanges without fear of prosecution or tracking by regulatory authorities.

The authorities said that this mechanism was exploited by various cybercriminal groups, including ransomware operators and darknet traders, and claimed that "the purpose was to quickly, easily and anonymously exchange cryptocurrency for other cryptocurrency or digital currency to hide the origin of the cryptocurrency."

They also said that the authorities have already seized user and transaction data from 47 platforms, which will be useful for future investigations.

"We found their servers, seized development, production and backup servers, etc. We have their data, therefore we have data on criminal transactions, registrations and IP addresses," BKA claimed in a statement.

GOYLE law enforcement announced that it has made great progress in disrupting cybercrime infrastructure.

A list of seized exchanges can be found on Final Exchange, but the most seized exchanges include Xchange.Cash with over 410,000 users and 1.28 million transactions, and 6ocek.org with over 300,000 users and over 900,000 transactions.

At this time, no arrests have yet been reported as a result of this closure, but BKA noted that identified cybercriminals are often tolerated and protected by their countries of residence and may be out of reach.

Multi-year prison sentences are possible

The operators of the seized exchanges are charged with money laundering and illegal transactions on the Internet under sections 127 and 261 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), which could result in a multi-year prison sentence.

In 2023, they uncovered Chipmixer, a major darknet cryptocurrency mixer, and recovered 90 million euros (about 14.2 billion yen).

Other investigations include the closure of Kingdom Market and the removal of malware such as Qakbot and Emotet, which caused hundreds of millions of euros in losses worldwide.

In 2024, the international operation "Endgame" focuses on dismantling major malware networks and their financial assets, undermining the funds of cybercriminals.

Reference: BKA announcement
Image: Shutterstock

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