#Cryptocurrency vendor sentenced#

The United States Department of Justice recently announced that Anurag Pramod Murarka, an Indian national and international virtual currency exchange operator, was sentenced to 121 months in prison for his role in a money laundering conspiracy. Murarka used advertisements on the dark web to solicit clients and facilitated illegal money transfers using cryptocurrency, laundering over $20 million for criminals involved in hacking and drug trafficking. Murarka ran an international money laundering operation. He regularly advertised his services on dark web marketplaces and communicated with clients through encrypted messages to negotiate exchange rates. After clients sent cryptocurrency to designated addresses, Murarka arranged for cash deliveries to employees in the United States through complex Indian hawala operations. Murarka's network of employees spanned the United States and overseas. These employees would collect cash from hawala contacts, package the cash in various ways, and mail it to clients. Murarka charged fees for his services and used a portion of the proceeds to bribe employees and co-conspirators. He was aware that many of his clients were involved in criminal activities, including computer hacking and drug trafficking. Therefore, his business facilitated criminal activities by helping to conceal the source of illegal proceeds.