US Authorities Charge Two Russians with Carding and Money Laundering
The US Department of Justice has filed charges against two Russian citizens suspected of bank fraud and laundering billions of dollars for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups. One of the accused is also believed to have operated the major carding platform Joker’s Stash.
Details of the Accusations
US authorities have indicted Sergey Ivanov, also known as Taleon, and Timur Shakhmametov, also known as JokerStash and Vega, in absentia. Ivanov is accused of laundering over $1.15 billion in cryptocurrency through services such as UAPS, PinPays, and PM2BTC. Shakhmametov allegedly managed one of the largest carding platforms—Joker’s Stash—which reportedly sold around 40 million payment cards annually and generated profits ranging from $280 million to $1 billion each year.
Law enforcement officials state that UAPS and PinPays acted as intermediaries for money transfers and payments, and both companies collaborated with carding resources like Joker’s Stash and Rescator. PM2BTC, meanwhile, was a cryptocurrency exchange primarily dealing in Bitcoin, which allegedly helped criminals convert crypto and fiat currencies and lacked any KYC (Know Your Customer) mechanisms. Dutch authorities eventually seized PM2BTC’s servers and confiscated over $7 million in cryptocurrency.
Scale of Criminal Activity
According to the US Department of Justice, from July 2013 to August 2024, approximately 32% of all crypto transactions processed through these platforms were linked to criminal activity. In total, more than $1.15 billion passed through these services.
Shakhmametov is said to have actively promoted Joker’s Stash on hacker forums and was involved in bank fraud and money laundering connected to the platform.
About Joker’s Stash
Joker’s Stash was one of the largest carding marketplaces, operating since 2014. The site frequently published batches of stolen payment card data, which could be used for both card-present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) fraudulent transactions.
Joker’s Stash often appeared in media reports and expert analyses due to massive data dumps containing millions of compromised bank cards. Notable incidents include the BIGBADABOOM-III dump related to the breach of the US retail chain Wawa, and a major leak of credit and debit cards issued by banks and financial institutions in South Korea and the United States.
Joker’s Stash shut down in 2021, with its administrators providing no explanation for the closure. It was speculated that the decision was linked to increased law enforcement activity, as authorities had recently gained control over several of the site’s servers and promised to pursue Joker’s Stash administrators and users relentlessly.
Ongoing Investigation and Sanctions
Since the whereabouts of Ivanov and Shakhmametov are unknown, the US State Department has announced a reward of up to $11 million for information leading to their location.
Additionally, the US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against Ivanov and designated PM2BTC as one of the “primary money laundering hubs.”