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Two Arrested After AudiA6 Crypto Money Laundering Service With $389 Million in Transactions Was Shut Down

Two suspects were arrested after AudiA6 was shut down, a money laundering service that processed about $389 million in bitcoin since 2021. The investigation shows how international crypto money laundering cases are handled.

By Mike Hesp
• 1 min read
Two Arrested After AudiA6 Crypto Money Laundering Service With $389 Million in Transactions Was Shut Down

Key Takeaways

  • Two men were arrested in Georgia on suspicion of running AudiA6, a crypto money laundering service.
  • AudiA6 processed more than 10,000 bitcoins since 2021, with a total value of about $389 million.
  • The suspects are waiting to be extradited to the United States and are accused of conspiracy and money laundering.

Two men were arrested in Georgia on suspicion of running AudiA6, a cryptocurrency money laundering service that processed more than 10,000 bitcoins since 2021, with a total value of about $389 million (€337 million). The suspects, Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, are accused of conspiracy and money laundering and are waiting to be extradited to the United States.

How AudiA6 Worked and Its Scale

AudiA6 offered its services through the Dark2Web forum, a cybercrime platform run by the suspects. There, AudiA6 advertised hiding and obscuring the source of cryptocurrency, charging a fee of up to 5% of the amount laundered. Investigators found that about 393 bitcoins came directly from illegal sources like darknet markets and ransomware groups, while the rest came indirectly from criminal activity.

International Cooperation and Actions

The arrests and investigation are the result of international cooperation involving the U.S. Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Europol, and Eurojust, along with police from several countries. This joint effort led to searches, Telegram account blocks, frozen crypto assets, and the replacement of AudiA6's online infrastructure with seizure banners from the authorities.

Why This Matters for the European Crypto Community

This case highlights the ongoing risks of money laundering in the crypto market and the need for international cooperation to break up these networks. For European crypto investors and users, it underscores the importance of paying attention to the source of digital assets and the security of crypto transactions.

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