In Surgut, the activities of an organized group that laundered nearly ₽100 million through cryptocurrency have been stopped. The criminals specialized in the illegal circulation of payment means, said Irina Volk, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Group members bought bank cards from citizens, gaining access to their accounts. According to police, the accomplices collected funds obtained through criminal means in these accounts.
The group then cashed out the money, converted it into cryptocurrency, and transferred it to their 'curators'. For their work, the 'money launderers' took a commission of 3-15%.
"According to data from one of the crypto exchanges, the turnover of funds from the cryptocurrency buy/sell transactions conducted by the individuals involved exceeded ₽94 million," the statement said.
It was also established that the criminals used the purchased bank cards for remote thefts within Russia. Three group members have been remanded in custody, and another has been placed under a travel restriction order. A criminal case has been initiated under Part 5 of Article 187 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal circulation of payment means).
The Bank of Russia intends to enhance monitoring of the crypto market and tighten the fight against fraudsters, according to the strategy for the development of the Russian financial market for 2026–2028. In mid-2027, the 'Antidrop' system is planned to be launched, which will allow banks to receive information about so-called 'drops' (droppers) — individuals whose details are used in shadow settlements. This week it became known that to implement this program, the Central Bank will require banks to link the accounts of Russians to their Taxpayer Identification Number (INN).
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