AudiA6 Operators Charged with Laundering Over $389M in Cryptocurrency

US authorities have charged two alleged operators of a cryptocurrency laundering service called AudiA6. According to prosecutors, the defendants processed over $389 million in illicit digital asset transactions through the network since 2021.

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev were arrested in Batumi, Georgia, following a global operation. The defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and sting money laundering.

Prosecutors alleged that AudiA6 received about 10,333 Bitcoin since 2021, valued at roughly $389.7 million at the time of the transactions. The service allegedly handled funds linked to darknet markets, ransomware groups, cybercrime services, scams, and other illicit sources.