European police seize BestMixer, saying it helped launder $200 million worth of cryptocurrency
European law enforcement has seized BestMixer.io, a bitcoin mixing website that authorities say served as one of the busiest cryptocurrency laundering services in the world. The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) shut down BestMixer Wednesday with help from Europol and investigative support from McAfee. BestMixer promised to shuffle bitcoin, bitcoin cash and litecoins that may have been “tainted” for their association in internet crime. The site helped turn over some 27,000 bitcoins, worth at least $200 million, since it began operating in May 2018, according to Europol. Virtual currency laundering is an essential part of the cybercriminal ecosystem. After hackers make off with a ransomware payment, they need to obfuscate that money before investigators trace those funds on the blockchain — bitcoin’s public ledger — where all transactions are visible. Security researchers used this technique to probe the hackers behind the 2017 WannaCry ransomware spree, for example. “A […]
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