Money launderers for Russian hacking groups arrested in Ukraine

The Ukrainian cybercrime police force has arrested members of a group of money launderers and hackers at the request of U.S. intelligence services. 

In a press release by Ukraine’s SSU, law enforcement says the individuals engaged in large-scale international operations where they laundered tens of millions of USD for various hacking groups.

To engage with their “clients,” the threat actors created several accounts with unique nicknames on dark web platforms and provided their services to hacking groups, including some operating in the Russian Federation. 

The police say the hackers used an extensive network of fictitious persons and financial services for the money laundering process, but the police provided no further details. 

The SSU carried out simultaneous raids in the Mykolaiv region and seized computer equipment, software, hand notes, and cash as part of the law enforcement operation. 

Law enforcement also seized three boxes of USB flash drives that appear to contain fake cryptocurrency hardware wallets.

The actors were reportedly manufacturing these independently, lacing them with crypto-stealing malware and selling them to targets.

“Moreover, these individuals independently manufactured and sold flash drives with viruses that hacked into victims’ digital wallets and stole cryptocurrency from them,” says the statement from Ukrainian police.

The authorities are currently analyzing the seized material to uncover more information, as they believe there are more persons involved in the malicious operation besides the arrested individuals. 

The relevant announcement also mentions foreign customers, so those who bought services from the money launderers could soon meet the consequences of their actions. 

SSU has been very active in cracking down on hackers and cybercriminals in the past couple of months, carrying out several operations across Ukraine. 

• DDoS operator controlling 100,000 bots was arrested this month. 
• Ransomware operators behind hundreds of attacks were arrested this month.
• Members of the Clop ransomware gang were arrested in June.
• Egregor ransomware affiliates were arrested in February.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/money-launderers-for-russian-hacking-groups-arrested-in-ukraine/