#Cryptocurrency vendor sentenced for money laundering#

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice sentenced Anurag Pramod Murarka, an Indian national and international virtual currency trader, to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Murarka solicited customers through advertisements on the dark web and facilitated illegal money transfers using cryptocurrency, laundering over $20 million for criminals involved in hacking and drug trafficking. Murarka’s money laundering operation worked by having customers contact him through encrypted messages, negotiate exchange rates, and send cryptocurrency to a designated address. Murarka then used the hawala network in India to deliver cash to his U.S.-based employees who would package and mail it to the customers. Murarka charged a service fee and used a portion of it to bribe employees and co-conspirators. He was aware that many of his customers were involved in criminal activities but still provided them with money laundering services, helping to obscure the source of their illegal activities and facilitating criminal operations. This incident once again exposes the money laundering risks present in cryptocurrency transactions and serves as a warning to regulators that they need to strengthen their oversight of cryptocurrency trading to prevent its exploitation by criminals.