The services discovered the server (the so -called laundry) located in Iceland, which enabled the washing of about 25 billion crowns, i.e. USD 200 million, in bitcoins. Thousands of criminals were to use the system!
Bitcoin laundry
The police of Iceland and the FBI jointly found a “money laundry” based on cryptocurrencies. Everything worked based on Icelandic servers.
Two FBI agents worked on the spot who appeared in the data processing center and simply turned off the server. In addition, they took his copy, which, as confirmed by the services, provided many evidence for criminal activities on the island. So far, two people have been detained in the case – one in Portugal, the other in the USA. Both admitted some of the charges. The FBI took over their means.
The two people mentioned, however, are almost certainly the tip of the huge iceberg. The police say that thousands of criminals from around the world used the service! The service was fully anonymous, which will make it difficult to reach the people involved in the practice.
This shows how huge sums circulate as part of illegal operations. Cryptocurrencies are a convenient tool for money laundering and hiding profits for criminals, often more difficult to track than traditional payment measures
– warned Steinarr Kr. Ómarsson, an officer who examined the case.
The owner did not know what was going on
The server was managed by a hosting company, but so far everything indicates that it was not aware of what its server was used, so she is not criminal liability.
Iceland is a country with developed technological infrastructure, with modern data centers and hosting services. Unfortunately, criminals use these advantages for their purposes, which is why we try to counteract it
Steinarr explained to the media. He reassured the fact that local companies cooperate with services to catch criminals who deal with washing funds.
Despite the latter in Iceland, the police are investigating even several dozen cases related to the “laundry” of cryptocurrencies a year.
We work with hosting companies and other partners to limit such activities. We often initiate proceedings ourselves when we notice something disturbing
Steinarr summed up.
