In the middle of August, it was announced that Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov had been extradited to the U.S. from the Netherlands. For a reason unknown to me this case has since gone radio silent when the opposite should happen. Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov has been charged for his role in an international cryptocurrency money laundering scheme. When he made his first appearance in federal court in the District of Oregon he pleaded not guilty and was released with extremely strict measures till his five-day jury trial that was set to begin yesterday October 4.
This will be one of the first trials since the DOJ has doubled down on efforts to prosecute and enforce money laundering laws in the crypto space. Dubnikov was not the sole perpetrator but has been accused of receiving and laundering more than $400,000 worth of BTC back in 2019. The BTC came from Ryuk a type of ransomware that stuck hard in 2019 which encrypted files and deletes any system backups. Targets of these attacks included school districts, hospitals, and honestly in a pretty brazen attempt the US Coast Guard.
We will have to wait until the trial to start seeing what evidence the U.S. had to pursue the Netherlands to send him to the U.S., but with ransomware becoming a larger and larger issue this trial is important for the government. If the government is successful in prosecution it sets a precedence for future prosecution of those who facilitate the laundering of illicit crypto. Something that should not be a part of the trial but is bound to play a role anyway is that Dubnikov is a Russian national and with so many hacks or attempts being traced back to Eastern Europe it could impact the trial.
At the end of the day, this could possibly be the start of a surge in prosecutions if the government was able to figure out how some of these groups operate and how to track them. While he did not launder the whole sum associated with his network according to the charges he was directly involved with $400,000 worth at 2019 price levels. Those who commit crimes like this must do the times to help clean up the space as well as the image of crypto and this could be the first example of that happening. It would also be beneficial to the industry if it was shown that current laws already can take care of issues like this so that repressing legislation is not passed by the government and implemented.
Please know I am not a financial advisor and make sure you do your own research! If you enjoyed this article and would like to support me further below are a few referral links that if you used when signing up I would appreciate it! Also, follow me on Twitter @Cje95_
Robinhood
Robinhood is offering a great signup deal if you use my link here where we will both be awarded free stock. All that you have to do is sign up and connect your bank account for the award! With commission-free crypto trading and the ability to set limit orders, it is a great hybrid offering in my opinion! Not to forget the addition of wallets and the ability to send and receive crypto!
Fold App
Offers daily wheel spins to win free sats daily! If you sign up for Fold with my link here you will get 5,000 sats for free!
Unstoppable Domains
Sign up using my link here and get a free $10 credit towards your first $40+ purchase!
Coinbase
Sign up for Coinbase and earn $10 of free Bitcoin when you buy or sell $100 in crypto with my referral here!
SMiles
If you are like me and walk to work every day this app rewards your walking with Sats! So far I have earned over 6,000 sats in just a couple of months walking to work! Here is my link!
