The FBI covertly financed and collaborated with drug traffickers and cybercriminals, including members of the infamous Scattered Spider cybercrime group, as part of an undercover operation to infiltrate a crypto money laundering network, new details emerged on Tuesday. The revelations come from a report by 404 Media, which cites court documents as its source.
The operation, which was disguised under a theme related to tech mogul Elon Musk, was run by federal authorities for nearly a year. This followed the arrest of its original operator, Anurag Pramod Murarka, a 30-year-old Indian national. Murarka was sentenced in January to 10 years imprisonment on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
During the course of the clandestine mission, federal agents successfully thwarted an additional $1.4 million from being laundered by masquerading as Murarka, according to the court documents.
Murarka, who used the pseudonyms “elonmuskwhm” and “la2nyc” to cover his tracks, received crypto from drug traffickers and hackers and converted the digital assets into cash via an intricate hawala network. Hawala is an informal money transfer system that is illegal in several countries.
From April 2021 to September 2023, Murarka promoted his money laundering services on darknet marketplaces and used encrypted methods of communication with his clientele, directing them to transfer crypto to specific wallets.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated in January that over $20 million was laundered through this operation.
The FBI initiated an investigation into Murarka’s activities, and managed to lure him to the U.S. by approving his visa application. Upon landing on American soil, he was promptly arrested, which enabled the FBI to commandeer the illicit enterprise.
The operation was run out of a modestly sized post office in Kentucky, according to the report. Under the FBI’s control, the operation continued to process crypto payments, tracking cash deliveries to Murarka’s stateside associates.
Court documents reveal that criminal proceeds were ingeniously concealed in envelopes and children’s books as part of the scheme, a detail previously reported by Decrypt.
Federal law mandates that Murarka must serve a minimum of 85% of his prison sentence, which will be followed by three years of supervised release.
This sophisticated operation underscores the increasing role of technology and digital currencies in criminal enterprises, and the necessary evolution of law enforcement tactics to counter these threats. It also serves as a stark reminder of the dark underbelly that persists beneath the shiny veneer of the digital age.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair.
