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Law enforcement in Switzerland and Germany announced the dismantling of Cryptomixer, a major mixing service that had been operating since 2016 and assisted criminals in laundering illicitly obtained funds. According to Europol, over the past few years, the service has handled over €1.3 billion in Bitcoin (approximately $1.5 billion).
Operation Olympia took place in late November in Zurich. During the raids, which lasted from November 24 to 28, law enforcement agencies, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, seized three servers containing over 12 TB of data, shut down domains on the regular internet and the Tor network, and confiscated €24 million (approximately $29 million) worth of Bitcoin. No arrests were reported in official press releases.
[td]"Cryptomixer was a hybrid mixing service that operated simultaneously on the open internet and the darknet. It facilitated the concealment of criminal proceeds for extortion groups, shadow forums, and darknet marketplaces. Its software blocked the tracking of funds on the blockchain, making the platform a favorite among cybercriminals seeking to launder illicit proceeds from various criminal activities (including drug trafficking, arms trafficking, ransomware attacks, and payment card fraud)," Europol representatives report.[/td]
Authorities note that such services provide criminals with anonymity at a crucial stage—when they need to convert stolen assets into fiat or other cryptocurrencies. While such platforms may theoretically have legal applications, in practice, their primary users remain criminal groups seeking to evade identification and arrest.
It's worth noting that this isn't the first major law enforcement operation targeting crypto mixers. For example, in March 2023, Europol coordinated a similar operation against ChipMixer, one of the largest cryptocurrency mixing services on the darknet. At that time, German police and the FBI seized four servers, 7 TB of data, and Bitcoin worth $46.5 million.
Also note that in late November, the founders of the crypto mixer Samourai were sentenced to prison in the US after being found guilty of laundering over $237 million.
The closure of Cryptomixer represents another serious blow to the criminal crypto ecosystem and demonstrates that the international law enforcement community is increasingly combating tools that allow criminals to conceal their illegal activities in the digital space.
Operation Olympia took place in late November in Zurich. During the raids, which lasted from November 24 to 28, law enforcement agencies, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, seized three servers containing over 12 TB of data, shut down domains on the regular internet and the Tor network, and confiscated €24 million (approximately $29 million) worth of Bitcoin. No arrests were reported in official press releases.
It's worth noting that this isn't the first major law enforcement operation targeting crypto mixers. For example, in March 2023, Europol coordinated a similar operation against ChipMixer, one of the largest cryptocurrency mixing services on the darknet. At that time, German police and the FBI seized four servers, 7 TB of data, and Bitcoin worth $46.5 million.
Also note that in late November, the founders of the crypto mixer Samourai were sentenced to prison in the US after being found guilty of laundering over $237 million.
The closure of Cryptomixer represents another serious blow to the criminal crypto ecosystem and demonstrates that the international law enforcement community is increasingly combating tools that allow criminals to conceal their illegal activities in the digital space.