30s Summary
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted crypto exchange operator AurumXchange for money laundering. The firm allegedly processed over $30 million across 100,000 transactions, with a substantial sum originating from darknet marketplace Silk Road accounts. Operator Maximiliano Pilipis, 53, ran operations without a license from 2009 to 2013, during which he accrued millions in transaction fees, including 10,000 Bitcoin. He violated the Anti-Money Laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies, as well as evading registration and report obligations for crypto exchanges. After shutting down AurumXchange, Pilipis is charged with laundering the Bitcoin and other assets earned from operations.
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So, the big news hits the crypto world where the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charges crypto exchange operator, AurumXchange, for being into money laundering. It’s said that they processed a hell lot of money for the Silk Road, which is kinda infamous darknet marketplace.
According to last month’s statement by DOJ, when 53-year-old Maximiliano Pilipis was running AurumXchange, a whopping $30 million plus crossed over 100,000 transactions and a part of this chunk of money came from Silk Road accounts.
Remember Dread Pirate Roberts? That’s the secret alias of Ross Ulbricht, an American, who was running the Silk Road. This place was a hotbed for buying and selling products anonymously and was the favorite spot for drug dealers.
Pilipis has been pulling off his operation without a legit license since 2009 and kept doing so until 2013— the year when the FBI closed down Silk Road.
The DOJ claims that Pilipis amassed millions in fees from facilitating these transactions, and guess what, it includes 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $1.2 million then.
Apparently, Pilipis skipped out on the federal registration and report filing mandate for crypto exchanges. He never applied for registration with the US Treasury Department and slipped on submitting activity reports to the federal government.
He also sidelined the ‘Know Your Customer’ rules, thus violating the Anti-Money Laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies.
Story doesn’t end here. After wrapping up AurumXchange, Pilipis took the Bitcoin and other assets he earned from his operation and laundered these assets to hide the original earnings.
He reportedly converted the crypto into US dollars, which he then invested in real estate properties in Arcadia and Noblesville, Indiana.
The authorities tell us that Pilipis earned hundreds of thousands in 2019 and 2020 from his properties but he never filed a tax return.
So, now, a federal grand jury has returned with the indictment of Pilipis, charging him with five counts of money laundering and two counts of willfully neglecting to file a tax return.
If found guilty, he could find himself spending up to ten years behind bars and coughing up a fine of up to $250,000. But, that is decided by a federal district court judge by considering sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. So, there is a chance his sentence could be lighter.
Source: Cointelegraph