Organizers of a multi-million-ruble Bitcoin-laundering operation arrested in Saint Petersburg

The Saint Petersburg police shut down a cryptocurrency exchange belonging to an organised crime group. They siphoned funds from bank cards and converted them into Bitcoin.

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Ten members of the criminal group have been identified. Seven of them were arrested in Yalta, Kaliningrad, Ulan-Ude, Khabarovsk and Saint Petersburg.

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Posing as bank employees, the fraudsters phoned civilians and urged them to transfer money to bank cards registered to front individuals. The funds were withdrawn at ATMs and transferred to Bitcoin exchanges.

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Police have received reports from at least 15 victims who transferred more than 2 million rubles to the scammers in total.

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To mask their activities, the criminals launched a cryptocurrency exchange. The police identified the organizers, coordinators and operators of an underground office located in a business centre on the Moika River embankment.

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Back in December 2019, a criminal case was opened against pseudo-FSB officers who, under threat of torture, stole cryptocurrency worth 55 million rubles.

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