Founder of Bitcoin mixing service Samourai Wallet arrested, charged with money laundering
In a significant development, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, founders and CEOs of Samourai Wallet, a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet and mixer, have been arrested and charged with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transfer business. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Southern District of New York announced these charges today following an extensive investigation into their activities.
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— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 24, 2024
The charges stem from allegations that Rodriguez and Hill facilitated more than $2 billion in illicit transactions and laundered more than $100 million in criminal proceeds through their company, Samourai Wallet. The Justice Department said the activity primarily involved transactions in illicit dark web markets as well as a scheme to defraud decentralized finance protocols. The defendants were charged by the DOJ with developing, marketing, and operating a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mixer that provided a platform for criminals to engage in large-scale money laundering.
“$2 billion in transactions with unlicensed money transfer companies means $2 billion was flowing without oversight from anyone to anywhere. Because the company ignored regulations, Samourai Wallet is believed to have laundered more than $100 million in criminal proceeds,” said Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI. “Special agents from IRS:CI New York and IRS:CI LA’s Cyber ​​Division worked with federal and international law enforcement partners to not only arrest the founders and CEOs, but also seize their domains. Samourai Wallet is now out of business.”
A joint effort by law enforcement led to the arrests of Rodriguez and Hill. Rodriguez was arrested in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and Hill was arrested in Portugal on U.S. criminal charges. The United States plans to seek Hill’s extradition to face trial domestically.
“As alleged, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill are responsible for the development, marketing and operation of Samourai, a cryptocurrency mixing service that served as a haven for criminals executing more than $2 billion in illicit transactions and engaging in large-scale money laundering.” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Rodriguez and Hill allegedly knowingly facilitated the laundering of more than $100 million in criminal proceeds from Silk Road, Hydra Market, and other computer hacking and fraud campaigns. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to relentlessly pursue and dismantle them. It is a criminal organization that uses cryptocurrency to conceal its illegal activities.”
We also worked with Icelandic authorities to seize Samourai’s web servers and domains, and a seizure warrant was issued for the Samourai Wallet mobile application on the Google Play Store. If you take this action, the application will no longer be available for download in the United States.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith concluded: “Threat actors leverage technology to evade detection by law enforcement and create an environment conducive to criminal activity. For nearly a decade, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill operated a mobile cryptocurrency mixing platform that provided a virtual haven for other criminals to secretly exchange illicit funds, facilitating over $2 billion in illicit transactions and $100 million in dark web funds. It is known that he did. laundry. “The FBI is committed to exposing clandestine financial schemes and ensuring that no one can hide behind a screen to perpetuate financial crime.”
