Criminal Investigator in Moscow Extorted Bitcoin from Arrested Hackers
– A criminal investigator in Moscow allegedly extorted bitcoin from hackers he arrested.
– Crystal Blockchain found that some of the seized coins have moved to crypto exchanges.
– The case involves a disgraced law enforcement officer who arrested members of the Infraud Organization.
– The arrested hackers claim to have paid a bribe of 2,718 BTC to the investigator.
– The investigator’s laptop with bitcoin was confiscated, but it is unclear what happened to the rest of the bribe.
Investigator Offers Deal to Hackers
– After arresting the hackers, the investigator offered to return half of their bitcoins if they gave him the rest.
– The hackers agreed to the deal and paid the investigator 2,718.66 BTC.
– The investigator’s laptop contained files with seed phrases for two wallets holding a total of 1,031.1 BTC.
– The confiscated bitcoins were sent to another address and stored in a safe vault for evidence.
Crystal Blockchain Traces Bribe Money
– Crystal Blockchain located the wallets that received the bribe based on leaked court documents.
– Additional payments of 1,032 BTC and 654 BTC were made to other officials connected to cybercrime groups.
– Crystal also found wallets belonging to the Infraud Organization connected to darknet marketplaces.
– The remaining bribe money may have been stored in a third wallet with 654.1 BTC.
– Most of the funds moved to centralized crypto exchanges, including Huobi, WhiteBit, and Bitexbit.
OTC Services Used to Cash Out
– The holders of the bitcoins traced by Crystal used an OTC service to cash out.
– WhiteBit was used as the exchange for these transactions.
– Wallet owners often cash out their crypto before their criminal connections become known.
– Smaller OTC services may have less stringent KYC and AML checks than larger exchanges.
– Huobi and Bitexbit have not commented on the matter.
Hot Take: An Inside Job
It appears that the criminal investigator in Moscow used his position to extort bitcoin from hackers he arrested. The movement of the seized coins to crypto exchanges raises questions about the involvement of other officials connected to cybercrime groups. This case highlights the need for stronger measures to prevent corruption within law enforcement agencies. It also underscores the importance of transparency and accountability in the cryptocurrency industry to prevent illegal activities.
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