Owe Martin Andresen, the suspected main administrator of Dream Market, one of the largest illicit darknet marketplaces before its 2019 shutdown, has been indicted for an alleged scheme to launder funds from Dream Market’s administrator accounts. Andresen was arrested last week in Germany on parallel charges brought by the German government.
“Andresen allegedly channeled commissions earned from selling illegal drugs, stolen personally identifiable information, counterfeit identification documents, and other items through cryptocurrency wallets and even converted his ill-gotten gains into gold bars,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Thanks to the close coordination between federal and German law enforcement, Andresen and his co-conspirators will no longer profit from the online sales of narcotics and fraud services, and Andresen will be prosecuted in both Germany and the United States as a result of his actions.”
Read more…
Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Russia: Call center scheme that deceived hundreds from over 20 countries exposed in Moscow
December 11, 2024
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), in collaboration with the Russian Interior Ministry, has exposed three Moscow-based illegal call centers that affected hundreds of citizens from more than 20 European and Asian countries, the FSB reported. “The unlawful activities of an organized crime syndicate that controlled the operation of three call centers in Moscow have been disrupted,” ...
- Encrypted messaging service intercepted, 2.3 million messages read by law enforcement
December 9, 2024
European law enforcement agencies have taken down yet another encrypted messaging service mainly used by criminals. The Matrix encrypted messaging service was an invite-only service which was also marketed under the names Mactrix, Totalsec, X-quantum, or Q-safe. Dutch and French authorities started an investigation when the service was found on the phone of a criminal convicted ...
- International operation against ‘phone phishing’ gang in Belgium and the Netherlands
December 6, 2024
Europol has supported Belgian and Dutch authorities in an international operation against a ‘phone phishing’ gang that has led to the arrest of 8 suspects. On the action day, law enforcement also carried out 17 searches in different locations in Belgium and the Netherlands. Although most of the criminal activities took place in Belgium, the main ...
- Europol: Fraudulent shopping sites tied to cybercrime marketplace taken offline
December 5, 2024
Europol has supported the dismantling of a sophisticated criminal network responsible for facilitating large-scale online fraud. In an operation led by the Hanover Police Department (Polizeidirektion Hannover) and the Verden Public Prosecutor’s Office (Staatsanwaltschaft Verden) in Germany, and supported by law enforcement authorities across Europe, over 50 servers were seized, significant digital evidence was secured, ...
- NCA disrupts $multi-billion Russian money laundering networks with links to, drugs, ransomware and espionage, resulting in 84 arrests
December 4, 2024
An international NCA-led investigation – Operation Destabilise – has exposed and disrupted Russian money laundering networks supporting serious and organised crime around the world: spanning from the streets of the UK, to the Middle East, Russia, and South America. Investigators have identified two Russian-speaking networks collaborating at the heart of the criminal enterprise; Smart and TGR. ...
- INTERPOL campaign warns against cyber and financial crimes
December 3, 2024
INTERPOL has launched a campaign to raise awareness on the growing threat of cyber and financial crimes against vulnerable individuals and organizations. The Think Twice campaign, which includes a series of short videos, focuses on five rising online threats: ransomware attacks, malware attacks, phishing, generative AI scams, and romance baiting. These sophisticated scams have seen a ...