German Police Seize 47 Crypto Exchanges in Money Laundering Crackdown

TLDR:

• German authorities seized 47 cryptocurrency exchanges used for money laundering
• The exchanges allowed anonymous transactions, facilitating criminal activities
• User and transaction data from the seized platforms will aid future investigations
• No arrests reported yet, but exchange operators face potential imprisonment
• Seized exchanges include Xchange.cash with over 410,000 users and 1,280,000 transactions

German law enforcement agencies have seized 47 cryptocurrency exchange services operating within the country.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’s office, and the country’s office for combating cybercrime jointly announced the operation on September 19, 2024.

The seized platforms allegedly facilitated illegal money laundering activities for various cybercriminals, including ransomware gangs, darknet dealers, and botnet operators.

These exchanges allowed users to conduct cryptocurrency transactions without adhering to standard “Know Your Customer” (KYC) regulations, providing complete anonymity to their users.

According to the BKA, these exchange services represented “one of the most relevant building blocks in the criminal value chain of the cybercrime phenomenon.”

By enabling anonymous financial transactions, these platforms created a low-risk environment for criminals to launder their illegally obtained funds and convert them into regular currency.

The operation, dubbed “Final Exchange,” has resulted in the redirection of all seized exchange websites to a warning page.

This page informs visitors that they have been misled by false promises of anonymity and that authorities have seized all related servers, including development, production, and backup systems.

One of the most significant platforms taken down was Xchange.cash, which had been active since 2012 and had facilitated nearly 1.3 million transactions for 410,000 users.

Other notable seized exchanges include 60cek.org, with over 300,000 users and 900,000 transactions, and Bankcomat.com, which had more than 250,000 users and 760,000 transactions.

Law enforcement agencies have secured extensive user and transaction data from these platforms, which is expected to aid in future investigations. The authorities have issued a clear warning to users of these exchanges, stating, “We have their data – and therefore we have your data. Transactions, registration data, IP addresses.”

As of now, no arrests have been reported in connection with Operation Final Exchange. However, the BKA noted that the operators of the seized exchanges face charges of money laundering and running illegal trade platforms on the internet.

These offenses fall under Sections 127 and 261 of the German Criminal Code (StGB) and can result in multi-year imprisonment sentences.

The German authorities acknowledged that many of the cybercriminals identified through this operation might be out of reach, as they often reside in countries where they are tolerated or even protected. This situation presents a challenge for German law enforcement in pursuing prosecutions.

The seized exchanges’ user base and transaction volumes highlight the scale of the issue. For instance, Banksman.com had over 280,000 users and 750,000 transactions, while Prostocash.com served more than 265,000 users with 470,000 transactions.