DOJ Seizes $2.8 Million in Crypto Linked to Ransomware Operation
The U.S. Department of Justice has seized $2.8 million in cryptocurrency, $70,000 in cash, and a luxury vehicle tied to Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, a suspected ransomware operator. Antropenko allegedly deployed Zeppelin ransomware to encrypt data from victims globally, demanding cryptocurrency payments for decryption. Prosecutors identified over 138 victims in the U.S. alone.
Funds were laundered through ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency mixing service, obscuring the trail of illicit gains. The DOJ's crackdown on ransomware operations has recovered more than $350 million for victims since 2020. This seizure underscores the growing intersection of cybercrime and cryptocurrency, with authorities intensifying efforts to track and dismantle such networks.
