US charges two over $389M crypto laundering operation

Georgian authorities provided details on the scope of the operation at a June 11 briefing attended by U.S. and Polish officials. Beka Kvitsiani, deputy chief of the Investigative Department at Georgia's Prosecutor General's Office, said roughly 100 officers from three countries carried out searches at dozens of locations across Georgia, according to Civil Georgia. Authorities seized electronic devices, documentation, 173 vehicles allegedly purchased with laundered funds, real estate, and frozen bank accounts.

The servers and domains tied to the operation were targeted in the United States, Iceland, Germany, and France. Telegram accounts linked to the network were blocked, cryptocurrency assets were frozen, and both the AudiA6 website and the Dark2Web forum were replaced with law enforcement seizure banners.

In January, TRM Labs reported that illicit cryptocurrency flows hit a record $158 billion in 2025, up nearly 145% from the prior year. The firm attributed the increase partly to expanded sanctions designations and increased use of crypto by nation-state actors.

The arrest of Tkachuk and Ledenev is the latest in a series of international operations targeting cryptocurrency as a vehicle for moving illicit funds. Earlier this year, the UK-led Operation Atlantic froze $12 million and identified over 20,000 victims of approval phishing scams across three countries, with on-the-ground support from exchanges including Binance.

The AudiA6 prosecution is part of the push by U.S. and European agencies to dismantle the infrastructure that connects cybercriminals to the traditional financial system. The organization is linked to over 15 international cybercrime investigations, according to Europol analysis.

Tkachuk and Ledenev remain in Georgian custody. The extradition process to Pennsylvania has not yet begun. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin D. Traster and Sima Kazmir, with support from the DOJ's Office of International Affairs.