The U.S. Department of Justice charged Ruslan Tkachuk, 37, and Alexander Ledenev, 25, for allegedly running a cryptocurrency money laundering operation called AudiA6 that processed over $389 million in bitcoin.
Both men were arrested in Batumi, Georgia, and face conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and sting money laundering charges.
International takedown
The arrests came alongside a coordinated international operation involving the Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement from ten countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France.
Three properties were searched, servers and domains were seized across the U.S., Iceland, Germany, and France, Telegram accounts were blocked, and cryptocurrency assets were frozen.
The clear web and dark web sites for both AudiA6 and the Dark2Web cybercrime forum were replaced with law enforcement seizure banners.
How the scheme worked
According to the criminal complaint, AudiA6 advertised on the Dark2Web forum, explicitly offering to conceal the source of customers’ cryptocurrency traceable to criminal activity for a fee of up to five percent.
Blockchain analysis revealed that approximately 10,333 BTC was deposited into AudiA6 wallets since the service launched in 2021.
Of that total, roughly 393 BTC—valued at around $19.2 million at the time—came directly from known darknet markets, ransomware groups, and other illicit sources, with additional funds arriving indirectly.
Extradition and penalties
Tkachuk, a Ukrainian national, and Ledenev, a Russian national, are currently held by Georgian authorities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is seeking their extradition.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced the charges, noting each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
