Description

On April 24th, 2024, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of the two founders of a cryptocurrency mixing service accused of laundering over $100 million in criminal proceeds. The service, Samourai Wallet, allegedly facilitated large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion since 2015 under the guise of a privacy-focused platform. CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Lonergan Hill are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Rodriguez is expected to appear in a Pennsylvania courtroom, while Hill awaits extradition from Portugal. Samourai Wallet offered features such as "Whirlpool" and "Ricochet" to obscure the origins of Bitcoin transactions. Ricochet enabled users to add unnecessary intermediate transactions, known as "hops," when sending cryptocurrency, further complicating transaction trails. Despite claiming to be privacy activists, the company allegedly targeted criminals and sanctions evaders. Marketing materials cited in the indictment revealed the company's explicit courtship of criminal clientele. Prosecutors allege Samourai Wallet's involvement in laundering funds from dark web markets like Silk Road and Hydra, as well as aiding cybercriminals in concealing their identities after lucrative hacks. These hacks include a web server intrusion in 2022, a spear-phishing scheme in 2021-2022, and a phishing attack on a decentralized finance protocol from 2021 to 2023. Law enforcement's focus on cybercrime infrastructure has intensified, with recent convictions and arrests targeting services like Bitcoin Fog and Tornado Cash.