The US Justice Department has authorized the seizure of more than $2.8 million in cryptocurrency along with cash and other assets as part of a criminal case against an alleged ransomware operator.
In a Thursday notice, the Justice Department said it had unsealed six warrants authorizing the seizure of $2.8 million in crypto from a wallet controlled by Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko, as well as $70,000 in cash and a luxury vehicle.
He has been charged with conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse, computer fraud and abuse, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“As alleged in the unsealed warrants, the cryptocurrency and other assets are proceeds of (or were involved in laundering the proceeds of) ransomware activity,” the notice reads.
“Those assets were laundered in various ways, including by using the cryptocurrency mixing service ChipMixer, which was taken down in a coordinated international operation in 2023. Antropenko also laundered cryptocurrency by exchanging cryptocurrency for cash and depositing the cash in structured cash deposits.”
The seizure was the latest US government action involving cryptocurrency that could be used to bolster its national stockpile, set up by an executive order from US President Donald Trump in March.
On Monday, the Justice Department said it had seized about $1 million in crypto from the ransomware group BlackSuit, and federal officials are seeking to lay claim to $2.4 million in Bitcoin (BTC) seized by the Dallas FBI in April.
How much Bitcoin does the US government hold?
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made headlines this week after suggesting the government was “not going to be buying” BTC as part of its crypto stockpile plans, shortly before the price of Bitcoin fell below $119,000. He later clarified on social media that the department would be “exploring budget-neutral pathways” to acquire BTC.
According to Bessent, the US government’s Bitcoin stockpile comprised assets seized in criminal cases after victims were compensated, totaling about $20 billion as of Thursday. With the Bitcoin price at $117,387 at the time of publication, estimates suggest a US stockpile of 198,012 BTC, worth more than $23 billion.
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