According to TRM Labs, Bithumb cut ties with Heleket after research linked the processor to high illicit-finance exposure and possible operational connections to Russia-linked Cryptomus and blacklisted exchange Garantex.
Bithumb said it severed ties with Heleket and suspended related virtual asset deposits and withdrawals over suspected money laundering and terror financing risks. TRM Labs said it assessed with high confidence that Heleket and Russia-linked payment processor Cryptomus are operationally connected through shared infrastructure, personnel, branding, and on-chain activity. TRM also reported that early liquidity into Heleket wallets came from blacklisted Russian exchange Garantex and that Heleket’s illicit exposure was about five times the average for payment service providers. The move comes as Bithumb faces broader compliance pressure in South Korea after regulators cited 6.65 million violations of the Specific Financial Information Act, including 45,772 transactions with unregistered foreign platforms, though a court paused a six-month partial business suspension while the case continues.