Dutch Authorities Seize €7M in Takedown of Russia-Linked Crypto Exchanges PM2BTC and Cryptex

Dutch officials have seized €7 million worth of cryptocurrency after taking two Russia-linked exchanges offline.

The Netherlands' financial intelligence unit (FIOD) announced that it has taken down the servers of PM2BTC and Cryptex, two cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of facilitating money laundering operations.

In a statement, FIOD said, “Servers of PM2BTC and Cryptex have been taken offline at various locations and cryptocurrency worth €7 million have been seized.” The organization added, “[Their] servers have been seized and will be investigated.”

The action comes shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden revealed that the United States had also taken measures against the two exchanges, citing their involvement in suspected Russian money laundering activities. PM2BTC, a Russian virtual currency exchanger, was labeled as being of "primary money laundering concern" due to its connections with illicit Russian operations. Cryptex, a virtual currency exchange registered in the Caribbean but operating in Russia, was also sanctioned.

FIOD clarified that their investigation was a parallel effort to the one initiated by U.S. authorities. According to the Dutch agency, “Analysis showed that Cryptex was a service provider that facilitated many different criminal financial flows, such as ransomware. Cryptex was using Dutch infrastructure.”

Additionally, FIOD stated that PM2BTC, which it also suspects was used by criminals, had infrastructure based in the Netherlands. The agency emphasized that the two services “appear to be closely intertwined,” leading to a coordinated operation between the FIU and Dutch police that successfully shut down both exchanges. 

By fLEXI tEAM