US federal agents quietly ran a crypto laundering operation that initially belonged to a man they had arrested for nearly a year.
According to an April 8 report from 404 Media, the scheme, which used Elon Musk’s name as a cover, was kept active by the FBI to gather information and stop further illegal transactions. The investigation involved known drug dealers and hackers, including some linked to the group Scattered Spider.
The original operator, Anurag Pramod Murarka, was arrested after entering the US on a visa that had been approved by federal officials. Murarka, a 30-year-old from India, was sentenced in January to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to launder money.
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According to US law, he must serve at least 85% of that sentence, followed by three years of supervised release.
Before his arrest, Murarka used the online names “elonmuskwhm” and “la2nyc” to offer crypto laundering services. He advertised these services on dark web marketplaces, communicating through encrypted apps and directing payments to certain digital wallets.
Once Murarka was in custody, the FBI continued the operation from a small postal location in Kentucky that had been part of his setup. Agents intercepted more illegal payments by pretending to be Murarka and kept tracking money movements. Over $1.4 million in planned transactions were stopped during this period.
Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently received court approval to shut down 95 firms linked to crypto and romance scams. What did the agency say about it? Read the full story.
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