U.S. prosecutors indict 'E-Note' operator on $70 million virtual asset laundering charges

U.S. prosecutors indicted the operator of the virtual asset service 'E-Note' on charges of laundering virtual asset (cryptocurrency) funds generated by ransomware attacks and hacking. Prosecutors say the service was used to conceal illicit money flows.

On the 18th (local time), according to crypto-focused media Decrypt, U.S. prosecutors indicted Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, a Russian national, on charges of operating E-Note.

Prosecutors alleged that E-Note laundered about $70 million in virtual assets generated by crimes such as ransomware attacks and hacking. They explained that E-Note functioned as money laundering infrastructure as criminal proceeds moved through multiple routes.

U.S. law enforcement is continuing investigations targeting service operators and infrastructure providers to block the concealment and laundering of criminal proceeds related to virtual assets. The E-Note case is also classified as an example of tracing the movement of illicit funds to assign responsibility.