The FBI has led an operation that seized websites and infrastructure linked to E-Note, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly enabled cybercrime.
In a statement published on December 17, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said the crypto exchange hub had been taken down and announced unsealing an indictment against Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, a 39-year-old Russian national.
The operation involved the FBI, the Michigan State Police’s Michigan Cyber Command Center (MC3), the German Federal Criminal Police Office and the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation.
According to court documents, Chudnovets began offering money laundering services to cyber criminals in 2010.
Through E-Note, which he controlled and operated, Chudnovets facilitated money laundering by transnational cyber-criminal organizations, including those targeting US healthcare and critical infrastructure.
Since 2017, the FBI identified more than $70m of illicit proceeds of ransomware attacks and account takeovers transferred via the E-Note payment service and money mule network, including laundered funds stolen or extorted from US victims.
The takedown operation resulted in the seizure of servers hosting Chudnovets’ operations, mobile applications and the websites “e-note.com,” “e-note.ws” and “jabb.mn.”
US law enforcement also obtained earlier copies of Chudnovets’ servers, including customer databases and transaction records.
Chudnovets is charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.