He would have laundered in cryptocurrency 19 million euros extorted during computer attacks before ransom demand. A young Frenchman was indicted on Friday, December 10, 2021, AFP learned on Monday from a source close to the case.
The 23-year-old suspect was arrested on December 7 in Sault (Vaucluse), where he lived with his parents, after information received several weeks earlier by the Central Office for the fight against crime linked to technology from the information and communication (OCLCTIC), responsible for the investigation.
Gold bar, Rolex and “wallets”
During the search of the family home, the police and agents of the financial judicial investigation service (SEJF) first got their hands on a gold bar and a Rolex. But the man, completely unknown to the police, was above all the holder of “wallets”, bank accounts for cryptocurrencies, for a total value of 19 million euros. This sum was divided between “A little ten” of cryptocurrencies, including “28 bitcoins worth 1.5 million euros”.
In custody, the suspect “Was not at all cooperative” and explained that this money came from “Promising investments”, entrusted a source to the central direction of the judicial police (DCPJ). But the first investigations show that man has “Laundered profits from ransomware attacks”, according to this same source. “He had a lifestyle, which did not correspond to his normal income, and his family was perfectly aware of it”, she clarified.
Ransomware attacks on the rise
The cryptocurrencies were transferred to the Seized and Confiscated Assets Recovery Agency (Agrasc) as part of the investigation. The suspect was indicted for “Ransomware-related crypto-asset laundering”. He was left free under judicial supervision by the judge of freedoms and detention (JLD), but the prosecution appealed against this decision.
The rest of the investigation will focus on tracing his links with the hackers who used his services to convert the ransomed dollars into cryptocurrency, which they assumed to be more discreet.
Ransomware attacks towards companies and institutions increased by 32% between 2019 and 2020, especially in the industry and public administration sector, according to a study published in November by the Ministry of the Interior. The ransoms demanded by criminals are increasingly important and most often demanded in cryptocurrency, according to this study.
– .
