The Federal police in Germany (BKA) seized the server infrastructure and shut down the ‘eXch’ cryptocurrency change platform for alleged cash laundering cybercrime proceeds.
Through the regulation enforcement operation, the authorities additionally seized eight terabytes of knowledge and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Sprint) price roughly $38,000,000, making this the third largest seizure of digital property in BKA’s historical past.
The BKA says the platform didn’t adjust to ‘know-your-customer’ rules, permitting cash laundering by cybercrime and different unlawful rings to bloom.
“Since its inception, an estimated 1.9 billion US {dollars} price of cryptocurrencies have been transferred by way of the service,” reads the announcement.
“There’s a suspicion that eXch particularly accepted Bitcoin of felony origin. Amongst different issues, a part of the stolen 1.5 billion US {dollars} from the crypto change Bybit, which was hacked on February 21, 2025, is believed to have been laundered by way of eXch.”
The record-breaking Bybit crypto-heist was performed by the infamous North Korean hacking group ‘Lazarus,’ in line with a number of blockchain consultants.
Supply: BKA
eXch was instantly implicated in Lazarus’ cash laundering efforts, which it vehemently denied on the time, dismissing some suspicious fund flows by way of them as remoted circumstances.
Ultimately, the service’s operators succumbed to the stress and elevated scrutiny, asserting they’d shut down all operations on Could 1, 2025.
Nonetheless, BKA’s seizure of eXch infrastructure, even when not energetic, might assist hint stolen quantities and determine cybercriminals who used the service.
The operators of the platform aren’t off the hook, because the German police introduced they’re below suspicion of economic cash laundering and working a felony on-line buying and selling platform.
The BKA says that, regardless of the restricted time that they had since eXch introduced the shutdown of its service, they managed to safe quite a few items of proof that led to as we speak’s regulation enforcement operation.
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