Two arrests in the wake of Bestmixer “Bitcoin mixer”

Last May, Europol closed Bestmixer.io, one of the most important services of " Crypto Mixing ". The money laundering investigation by cryptocurrency continues and the Dutch authorities have arrested two men.

The Dutch agency responsible for investigating financial crimes, the FIOD, called on Monday two men in two separate money laundering cases. The two suspects, originally from Netherlands, have in common their use of crypto-currencies and in particular from Bitcoin.

The first, a 45-year-old man, is suspected of having laundered more than two million euros. Financial transactions drew the attention of investigators. The individual has indeed made large purchases and withdrawals of money.

Dozens of crypto-wallets seized, and also gold

His income did not allow him to carry out such transactions. But above all, the suspect used to hide his financial operations a credit card in cryptocurrency. During his arrest, three kilos of gold were seized, but also dozens of crypto-wallets containing tokens whose value is estimated at 260,000 euros.

The authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the source of these resources, to which were added other valuable goods such as watches, jewelry and 10,000 euros in cash.

The second arrest implicates a 31-year-old man suspected with accomplices of the laundering of 100,000 euros thanks to the Bitcoin Bestmixer mixer. The criminal activities of Bestmixer were revealed by Europol in 2019, after its closure by the Dutch police.

A suspect betrayed by a Bitcoin address on the Bestmixer server

This tool allowed cybercriminals to mix crypto transactions in order to conceal the source of funds. The criminal origin is thus established within the framework of this week's arrest, permitted by an address Bitcoin and an IP address linked to Bestmixer.

The investigation to date shows that many mixed cryptocurrencies have a criminal origin or destination, "established the Dutch FIOD (Fiscale Inlichtingen en OpsporingsDienst). Various terminals, such as computers and telephones, were seized.

The closure of Bestmixer could lead to further arrests. This is what the Dutch authorities are announcing. The service was very used. In just one year of activity, it has generated $ 200 million in revenue by earning 25,000 bitcoins.

Other Bitcoin Mixers are however in the crosshairs of the authorities elsewhere in the world, and especially in the United States. Last week, the founder of the Helix "Bitcoin mixer" has been arrested. He is accused of laundering nearly $ 300 million for Darknet cybercriminals.