Russian accused of money laundering in the US through cryptocurrency: he faces up to 20 years in prison

Denis Dubnikov, 30, a Russian crypto-dealer previously extradited from the Netherlands, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money. This is stated on the website. US Department of Justice.

Photo: IStock

From August 2018 to August 2021, Dubnikov and his associates laundered the proceeds of Ryuk ransomware attacks on individuals and organizations in the US and abroad.

After receiving the ransom, Dubnikov and his accomplices, as well as other participants in the scheme, engaged in various financial transactions, including international financial transactions, in order to hide the nature, source, location, ownership, and control of the proceeds of the ransom.

In particular, in July 2019, an American company paid a ransom of 250 bitcoins after a ransomware attack. Around July 11, 2019, in Moscow, Russia, Dubnikov accepted 35 bitcoins from an accomplice in exchange for approximately $400. The bitcoins given to Dubnikov came directly from a ransom paid by an American company.

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Dubnikov converted bitcoin to tether and sent it to a second accomplice, who eventually exchanged it for Chinese yuan. Dubnikov's accomplices laundered additional bitcoins from the original ransom payment. Dubnikov received financial compensation for his role in the scheme.

On November 2, 2021, Dubnikov was arrested in Amsterdam (Netherlands) on the basis of a preliminary arrest warrant. On August 16, 2022, he was extradited to the United States and the next day he appeared in federal court for the District of Oregon for the first time.

Dubnikov's lawyer, Arkady Bukh, said that in early November, his client was going on vacation to Mexico, where he was detained and put on a plane to the Netherlands.

“Mexico did not let him into the country. American intelligence services pushed Dubnikov on a plane to the Netherlands and, having paid for the ticket, sent him there. That is, in fact, they simply abducted,” the lawyer said.

He builds Dubnikov’s defense on the fact that the accused “knew nothing: he didn’t know where the money came from, and he acted in full accordance with the law of Russia.”

According to the lawyer, the charges have not yet been presented in full. “They have the right not to do it until the moment it is brought to the United States,” Bukh explained.

The Netherlands has almost 100% extradition statistics.

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“He was detained in Mexico but expelled because Mexico does not have such an ideal extradition policy as the Netherlands,” he said.

Money laundering conspiracy is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and a $500 fine. Dubnikov will be sentenced on April 000, 11.

Ryuk, first discovered in August 2018, is a type of ransomware software that, when run on a computer or network, encrypts files and attempts to delete any system backups. It should be noted that Ryuk may target drives contained in or physically connected to a computer, including those accessible remotely over a network connection. Ryuk has been used to target thousands of victims around the world in a variety of sectors. In October 2020, law enforcement officials specifically identified Ryuk as an imminent and growing cybercrime threat to hospitals and healthcare providers in the United States.

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