Europol Seizes $46M from Crypto Mixer After $2.88B Alleged Laundering

• Europol seized assets of cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer after allegedly laundering $2.88 billion over the past five years.
• Assets seized include 1,909.4 Bitcoin and €44.2 million ($46 million).
• The investigation was coordinated by law enforcement from Belgium, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, the U.S., and more.

Europol Seizes Crypto Mixer After Alleged Money Laundering

Law enforcement officials from the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) have seized assets of cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities.

Assets Seized

The total assets seized include 1,909.4 Bitcoin and €44.2 million ($46 million) in 55 transactions amounting to 44.2 million euros ($46 million).

Previous Allegations

Decentralized finance analyst ZachXBT previously alleged on Nov. 25, 2022, that the hacker(s) of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX laundered 360 BTC ($5.9 million) using ChipMixer after an $372 million exploit.

ChipMixer’s Blocking Trail Feature

Deposited funds in ChipMixer would be turned into “chips,” or small tokens with equivalent value, which were then mixed together to anonymize the initial trail of funds . This feature made it attractive for cybercriminals looking to launder illegal proceeds from criminal activities such as darkweb markets, ransomware groups, illicit goods trafficking, procurement of child sexual exploitation material and stolen crypto assets .

Coordination From Multiple Law Enforcement Agencies

The investigation and subsequent enforcement was coordinated by the Belgian Federal police ,the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany ,the Central Cybercrime Bureau of Poland ,the Cantonal Police of Zurich Switzerland ,the U .S . Federal Bureau of Investigation ,the U .S . Department of Homeland Security ,and the U .S . Department of Justice