World Crypto Global
- Written by: Tareq Sikder
- Thu, 25 Apr 2024
- Israel
Federal prosecutors charged Samurai Wallet founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, with conspiracy to commit moneylaundering yesterday (Wednesday), marking another development in the USgovernment's ongoing efforts to address the use of crypto mixing toolspotentially exploited by illicit actors and foreign entities to concealfinancial transactions.Facing Legal Action over Alleged TransactionsAccording to a press release issued on Wednesday, Rodriguezand Hill stand accused of developing, marketing, and operating the mixer,purportedly facilitating more than $100 million in money launderingtransactions from illegal dark web markets. The release further alleges thatSamourai Wallet facilitated approximately $2 billion in "unlawfultransactions" from 2015 to the present.Prosecutors have claimed that Rodriguez and Hill accrued around$4.5 million in fees for their mixing services, with different featurescarrying various pool fees, as outlined in the indictment. The charges againstthe duo include conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operatean unlicensed money-transmitting business, carrying potential maximum sentencesof 20 years and five years, respectively.Rodriguez was reportedly arrested on Wednesday morning andis expected to be arraigned in Pennsylvania today or tomorrow, while Hill, theChief Technology Officer of Samourai Wallet, was apprehended in Portugal andwill face extradition to the US.Federal prosecutors have charged Samurai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill with conspiracy to commit money laundering According to a press release, the pair developed, marketed and operated the mixer, which "facilitated more than $100 million in money pic.twitter.com/wOY8iZR95y Waivly (@Waivly) April 24, 2024Website Seized Following Developer IndictmentThe Samourai Wallet website,previously hosted in Iceland, has been seized, along with a seizure warrantissued for the mobile application on the Google Play Store. The website'shomepage now displays a warning from US officials following the developers'indictment.The Department of Justice's press release highlighted thatSamourai Wallet had been under development since 2015, alleging that Rodriguezand Hill actively encouraged users to launder criminal proceeds through themixer, citing social media posts and private messages. The mobile applicationreportedly garnered over 100,000 downloads.This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.
