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Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have indicted two men on Wednesday for orchestrating an international bitcoin and crypto money laundering enterprise that handled close to $400 million in illicit funds over a five-year period. This action is part of a significant global law enforcement effort that has disrupted the group’s criminal network across various continents.
Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk, aged 37, a Ukrainian citizen, and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, aged 25, a Russian citizen, were apprehended in Batumi, Republic of Georgia, their place of residence, according to U.S. Attorney David Metcalf of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Each faces a single charge of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and a charge of sting money laundering, both carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.
Prosecutors assert that these two individuals were key figures in an organization that identified itself as “AudiA6.” This group operated a cryptocurrency mixing service and managed a cybercrime forum named Dark2Web, where individuals could arrange the commission of cybercrimes for remuneration. Since its inception in 2021,
Bitcoin valued at $389 million
AudiA6 received approximately 10,333 Bitcoin, with a value of about $389.7 million at the time of the transactions. The organization generated at least $10 million in commission fees by charging clients rates up to 5% per transaction.
From these funds, roughly 393 Bitcoin, estimated at around $19.2 million, were directly linked to recognized darknet marketplaces, ransomware syndicates, and other illicit origins. Additional funds also flowed indirectly from criminal actors.
Despite AudiA6’s assurances to clients that the commingled funds would be untraceable, investigators revealed through blockchain analysis that the transactions could be followed directly via exchange records.
The investigation, partly supported by six undercover operations conducted between December 2022 and May 2026, involved FBI and Secret Service agents posing as criminals intending to launder proceeds from fraud schemes and drug trafficking.
In one instance, an AudiA6 operator responded to an agent’s inquiry about the acceptability of stolen Bitcoin with a simple statement: “don’t care.” In another conversation, when questioned about whether drug sale proceeds posed an excessive risk, the operator replied, “Everything like that needs to go through a mixer.”
The arrests were executed as part of a synchronized international operation involving the U.S. Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Authorities conducted searches at three locations, confiscated digital devices, froze cryptocurrency assets, blocked associated Telegram channels, and replaced the AudiA6 and Dark2Web websites with law enforcement seizure notices.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has stated its intention to pursue the extradition of Tkachuk and Ledenev to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin D. Traster and Sima Kazmir.
Source: : bitcoinmagazine.com