Europol nukes Cryptomixer laundering hub, seizing €25M in Bitcoin

Law enforcement agencies in Germany and Switzerland have shut down cryptocurrency laundering platform Cryptomixer in Europe's latest pushback against cybercrime infrastructure. The Europol-led Operation Olympia took place over November 24-28 and saw authorities seize three Swiss servers and the cryptomixer.io domain. In doing …

[Dinanziame]

I have no problem with this

As much as I complain about governments requesting backdoors in messaging apps, I don't see a compelling argument for crypto mixers. I don't like it that governments want to track opinions, but I'm entirely fine with them tracking money.

[DS999]

Wouldn't it make more sense to take it over

Like they have taken over other services used by criminals? Then they could track the money flows and find criminals based on who is laundering money rather than having to catch them committing the crimes.

For instance someone is getting paid for those Louvre jewels, and these days no one is taking bulky easy to seize cash. They're taking crypto, and likely will want to cover their tracks in a mixer before sending it overseas to buy a nice villa in a sunny place with weak extradition laws. Maybe it is one of the people they've already caught who is hoping to have a nice post prison retirement, or maybe it is someone as yet uncaught who is letting his fellows take the fall while he covers he tracks before they squeal.

[IGotOut]

Re: Wouldn't it make more sense to take it over

They may well have done. They've done it before they announced the shutting down when they believe they may have been found out.

[Anonymous Coward]

If my car is nicked and later recovered, assuming it can be identified, I or the insurance company still own it and get it back.

If my tokens are nicked, there's a public register of where they are, so very easy to locate (to the wallet containing them), but aren't they are still mine... ?

Seems once they leave the perp's offline wallet, they can recognised as forbidden fruit and be returned to me... No?

Yes, I realise that would require the mixers, trading sites and banks to comply, but they are very keen to make it easier for "modern" magic beans, erm, crypto currency to be used, so they'd play ball. the ones that don't? they'd be the ones to shut down.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sigh. Crypto tokens are *not* money, or tangible assets, and I really wish our governments would enact laws enforcing this, and let the general public know that if their bitcoin is stolen, there is nothing the police will do about it, because it has no value.

[Jedit]

"but aren't they are still mine... ?"

No, they're not. Your magic beans haven't been stolen. You gave them away of your own free will in exchange for someone else's.

Now, you're probably asking why you don't get to keep your new magic beans. The answer to that is because they are the proceeds of crime, having been run through what amounts to a laundering operation. Also, you used that laundering operation yourself or your beans wouldn't be in it in the first place. So even if your original beans were obtained entirely legally, you've knowingly chosen to facilitate a crime.

[katrinab]

Re: "but aren't they are still mine... ?"

They might have been stolen, that is one scenario where someone might want to launder them before cashing out.