Germany Seizes 47 Crypto Platforms, Warns Criminal Users: ‘We Have Your Data’

• German authorities shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges linked to cybercrime activities.

• The platforms allegedly allowed users to conceal the origins of illegally obtained funds.

German authorities have dismantled 47 cryptocurrency exchange platforms, accusing them of enabling an underground economy that facilitated cybercrime. This takedown is part of an ongoing campaign to shut down unlawful financial activities associated with ransomware, botnets, and black market merchants.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’s office, and the country’s office for combatting cybercrime revealed that these platforms deliberately avoided putting in place measures to prevent money laundering. By avoiding important checks, the exchanges helped hide the sources of illicit money and transform it into legal tender. 

Law Enforcement Confiscates User and Transaction Data

The seized cryptocurrency platforms allowed cybercriminals to transfer funds without the intervention of law enforcement. The authorities also confiscated the user and transaction data from the seized servers to be used for future investigations. The websites of these exchanges now display a warning message from the German government, stating, “We have your data. Transactions, registration data, IP addresses.” This serves as a stark message to users who believe in the anonymity promised by these platforms.

The operation entitled ‘Operation Final Exchange’ is Germany’s interdiction campaign to eliminate cybercrime structures. Some of the platforms that were seized include Xchange.cash, 60cek.org, and Prostocash.com, through which millions of transactions were made for hundreds of thousands of users. Xchange.cash alone is said to have processed about 1.3 million transactions for more than 400,000 users since 2012. 

These exchanges allowed criminals to clean money from ransomware attacks, darknet activities, and botnet control. With the help of German police officers, they have access to the servers of the platform and now have all the necessary information that can result in a series of arrests, especially among the most active users of the platform. 

International Legal Challenges Hinder Prosecution Efforts

However, German authorities have stated that it may be difficult to prosecute all the users, given the amount of data collected. Most of these cyber criminals are based in countries that have either lenient or no laws against such crimes thus making the criminals unreachable by German police.

However, authorities are sure that the information received will result in numerous legal proceedings against both the owners of the platforms and their users. According to German legislation, individuals involved in the management of unlawful trading platforms may be charged with severe offenses such as money laundering, which is punishable by a significant number of years in prison. 

The German government has had some success in the past few years in fighting against illicit activities on the Internet. This move comes after a similar action in 2023 when the authorities seized the darknet crypto mixer known as Chipmixer and got back €90 million.

In 2020, the german government seized 50,000 Bitcoin from Movie2k.to, a piracy website. That Bitcoin, worth approximately $3.15 billion at current prices, was sold off in several transactions during June and July of 2024.