DOJ seeks to return millions of USD in cryptocurrency to victims of $97 million oil scam
The U.S. Department of Justice (#DOJ ) is working to recover $7.1 million in cryptocurrency to return to victims of a $97 million oil investment fraud. A man in Washington, Geoffrey Auyeung, has been accused of laundering money from this scheme.
Money laundering through crypto wallets and blockchain tracing
Prosecutors say the promised scam money from leasing oil storage has been funneled through shell companies, U.S. bank accounts, foreign accounts, and at least 19 cryptocurrency wallets, some linked to IP addresses and exchanges in Russia, #Nigeria .
This case shows that criminals are increasingly using cryptocurrency in scam and international money laundering networks, especially in areas with loose regulations. It also demonstrates that the DOJ is increasingly relying on blockchain tracing to recover assets related to transnational financial crime. Andrew Lunardi from Immutable noted that tracing on public blockchain is often easier than traditional finance due to immutable transaction records.
The DOJ investigation found that Auyeung controlled a network of fake companies to hide the source of the funds. He is accused of moving victims' money through more than 80 bank accounts and nearly 20 cryptocurrency wallets, eventually converting it into $BTC , $ETH , Tether, and $USDC , with some transactions passing through Gemini and Binance exchanges in the U.S.
