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8h ago

Justice Department Seizes $2.8 Million in Crypto Linked to Zeppelin Ransomware Indictment

Unsealed warrants in three federal districts showcase a strategy of leveraging blockchain tracing with multiagency coordination to recover illicit ransomware proceeds.

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Overview

  • Federal warrants unsealed on August 14 authorized seizures in the Northern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia and Central District of California.
  • Authorities confiscated over $2.8 million in cryptocurrency, $70,000 in cash and a luxury vehicle tied to a wallet controlled by Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko.
  • Antropenko is charged in the Northern District of Texas with conspiring to deploy Zeppelin ransomware to encrypt and exfiltrate data from victims worldwide.
  • Prosecutors allege the proceeds were laundered through the mixing service ChipMixer and converted to cash via structured deposits.
  • The FBI’s Dallas and Norfolk field offices and the Justice Department’s Virtual Assets Unit are probing the case as the seized assets enter forfeiture proceedings.