The Department of State is announcing reward offers under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program of up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of Timur Shakhmametov and Sergey Ivanov for participating in, conspiring to participate in, and attempting to participate in transnational organized crime. Separate reward offers of up to $1 million each are also being offered for information leading to the identification of other leaders of the Joker's Stash criminal marketplace (other than Shakhmametov), as well as the identification of other key leaders of the UAPS, PM2BTC, and PinPays transnational criminal groups (other than Ivanov).
Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is sanctioning Ivanov and Russia-operating virtual currency exchange Cryptex, and issuing an order that identifies PM2BTC as being of "primary money laundering concern" in connection with Russian illicit finance. These actions are part of a coordinated international effort to disrupt Russian cybercrime services and are being taken in conjunction with actions by other U.S. government agencies and international law enforcement partners.
According to the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Shakhmametov allegedly utilized the moniker "JokerStash" in his capacity as the creator/operator of Joker's Stash, one of the most profitable online marketplaces for stolen credit card data and compromised personally identifiable information. Ivanov laundered the proceeds from Joker's Stash. USSS alleges Ivanov to be a reliable, long-term provider of money laundering services for top tier cybercriminals since approximately 2005.
Today's actions underscore the United States's commitment, along with our allies and partners, to not allow cybercrime facilitators to operate with impunity. We will continue to use all our tools and authorities to deter and expose these money laundering networks and impose cost on the cyber criminals and support networks. We reiterate our call that Russia must take concrete steps to prevent cyber criminals from freely operating in its jurisdiction.
Today's reward offer is authorized by the Secretary under the Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program
