The FBI and its international partners, along with Michigan State Police, have seized an E-Note crypto exchange linked to $70 million in cybercrime proceeds.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced on Wednesday (Dec. 17) the takedown of the online infrastructure used to operate their cryptocurrency exchange, which allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational cybercriminal organizations, including those targeting the United States’ healthcare and critical infrastructure.
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Since 2017, the FBI has identified more than $70,000,000 in illicit proceeds from ransomware attacks and account takeovers transferred via E-Note payment services and a money mule network, including laundered funds stolen or extorted from U.S. victims.
The United States Attorney’s Office also announced the unsealing of an indictment in the Eastern District of Michigan against Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, 39, a Russian national, which charged him with one count of money laundering conspiracy.
According to court documents, Chudnovets began offering money laundering services to cyber criminals in 2010.
Until the seizure by law enforcement, Chudnovets offered money laundering services via the E-Note payment processing service, which he controlled and operated.
Chudnovets worked with financially motivated cyber criminals to transfer criminal proceeds across international borders and to convert those proceeds from cryptocurrency into various cash currencies
As part of the coordinated actions, U.S. and international law enforcement seized servers hosting Chudnovets’ operations, mobile applications, and the websites “e-note.com,” “e-note.ws,” and “jabb.mn.” U.S. law enforcement separately obtained earlier copies of Chudnovets’ servers, including customer databases and transaction records.
Chudnovets was charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The FBI Detroit Cyber Task Force is investigating the case.
The Justice Department also recognizes the critical cooperation of the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Michigan State Police, Michigan Cyber Command Center (MC3).
Any individual who believes he/she is a victim whose funds were laundered through Chudnovets should reach out to law enforcement via email address e-note-information@fbi.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.