U.S. charges two men over AudiA6 crypto laundering service tied to 10,333 BTC

U.S. prosecutors in Philadelphia charged Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev with running the AudiA6 cryptocurrency money-laundering operation, which authorities said processed about 10,333 Bitcoin worth roughly $389.7 million. The men were arrested on June 10 in Batumi, Republic of Georgia, as part of an 11-country operation that also dismantled the Dark2Web cybercrime forum and marketplace, and U.S. authorities said they will seek extradition. Authorities said AudiA6 advertised on Dark2Web that it could conceal the origins of cryptocurrency tied to criminal activity for fees of up to 5% per transaction. Investigators said illicit funds processed by the network spanned 2022 to 2025, while earlier U.S. court filings said wallet flows dated from the service's 2021 launch. Of the total, about 393 Bitcoin, valued at around $19.2 million at the time of the transactions, was traced directly to darknet markets, ransomware groups and other illicit sources, with additional funds allegedly linked indirectly to criminal actors. The takedown included seizures of 25 domains, more than 30 servers and 80 vehicles, along with the freezing of about $900,000 in cryptocurrency. Earlier Georgian statements described broader seizures that included electronic devices, documents, real estate, frozen bank accounts and 173 vehicles allegedly purchased with laundered funds. Europol said the organization was linked to more than 15 international cybercrime investigations, underscoring growing cross-border coordination against crypto-enabled illicit finance.