German Authorities Shut Down Crypto Exchanges Linked to Criminal Money Laundering

German officials have shut down dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of being used by criminals to launder illicit funds. Law enforcement revealed that these platforms allowed customers to register without verifying their identities, enabling users to operate anonymously. As a result, many of these exchanges were “used for criminal purposes,” including money laundering.

A full list of the affected exchanges has been made available online. Law enforcement estimates that some of the exchanges had hundreds of thousands of users. According to the German Attorney General’s office, many of these platforms “deliberately concealed” the origins of illegal funds “on a large scale.” The office further stated that users included “ransomware groups and darknet traders,” who allegedly used the exchanges to convert “ransom money or other proceeds of crime into the regular currency cycle.”

German authorities have also posted an online notice directed at the “criminal users of the now switched off exchange services.” The notice warned that although users may have believed their transactions were anonymous, they are now under police scrutiny. "We have their data – and therefore we have your data. Transactions, IP addresses," the message said. It ended with a direct warning: "Our search for traces begins. See you soon."

Officials did not confirm whether any digital assets connected to the exchanges had been seized. However, earlier this year, German authorities confiscated approximately 50,000 Bitcoins, valued at over $2 billion at the time. Many of these Bitcoins were sold in bulk by the German government in July, which caused considerable concern within cryptocurrency markets.

By fLEXI tEAM