Russian arrested in Argentina for laundering money for hackers

Argentinian police arrested a Russian national this week suspected of accepting millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency from child sexual abusers, financiers of terrorism and North Korean hackers.

The suspect allegedly laundered the funds through crypto exchanges and converted them into fiat currency, according to a report by blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs, which assisted local law enforcement with the investigation.

The 29-year-old Russian, identified as VB, allegedly set up a money laundering operation in his apartment in Buenos Aires.

During the arrest, Argentinian police officers had to read the court order in Spanish and translate it into Russian using artificial intelligence, as the suspect had not learned the language despite living in the country for two years, local media reported.

“Since he knew we were on his trail, VB moved every month,” an anonymous source close to the investigation told local media outlet La Nacion. The man attempted to hide his tracks by using “a complicated web of transactions in several different assets and across multiple blockchains,” according to TRM Labs.

Law enforcement identified the suspect’s location with the help of intelligence provided by the crypto company Binance, which he reportedly used to manage part of his digital assets.

During the search of the suspect’s apartment, police seized over $120,000 worth of cryptocurrency and an additional $15 million from other properties he controlled. The suspect’s electronic devices, which could contain information on money transfers and crypto assets related to organized crime, were also seized.

The investigation into VB’s case began last November when authorities received information that part of the million-dollar loot stolen by North Korean cybercriminals in the Harmony Bridge hacking case had reached a cryptocurrency wallet based in Argentina.

During the hack of the Harmony blockchain company, the North Korean military-backed group stole $100 million in cryptocurrency from the platform. The FBI later attributed this attack to Lazarus.

According to La Nacion, VB faces charges of money laundering, with the allegations aggravated by his repeated offenses and potential involvement in organized criminal activity.