European authorities have taken offline a cryptocurrency mixing site that was used to launder 1.3 billion euros

Europol Leads Takedown of Cryptomixer Cryptocurrency Laundering Platform

A collaborative effort among international law enforcement agencies, led by Europol, has resulted in the closure of the cryptocurrency laundering service known as Cryptomixer.

In an official statement, Europol described Cryptomixer as a preferred tool for cybercriminals looking to disguise illicit gains from activities including drug and weapons trafficking, ransomware operations, and payment card fraud.

According to Europol, since its inception in 2016, Cryptomixer has been used to launder approximately 1.3 billion euros (about $1.5 billion) in Bitcoin.

Criminals and hackers often turn to services like Cryptomixer to mask the origins of their digital assets. While cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum operate on transparent blockchains, which allow law enforcement and analytics firms like Chainalysis and Elliptic to track transactions, mixing services are designed to disrupt this traceability.

Authorities reported the confiscation of 25 million euros (roughly $29 million) in Bitcoin, along with three servers, 12 terabytes of data, and the official domain cryptomixer.io, which now displays a law enforcement seizure notice.

Europol noted that the platform enabled the concealment of criminal proceeds for ransomware operators, underground forums, and dark web marketplaces, claiming its technology could prevent blockchain tracking of funds.

The service operated by pooling deposits from multiple users for unpredictable periods before redistributing the funds to various addresses at random intervals. This process, according to Europol, made it increasingly difficult to follow the movement of specific coins, thereby hiding the true source of the cryptocurrency.

Cryptomixer promised its clients privacy, allowing cybercriminals to obscure their funds before transferring them to legitimate exchanges. Europol stated that once laundered, these digital assets could be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or converted into traditional currency.

Authorities have previously dismantled or imposed sanctions on several other mixing services, including Tornado Cash and ChipMixer, among others.

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