A new report by Transparency International Russia, the first one since our relaunch as a TI chapter in exile, looks into a route for anonymous conversion of cryptocurrencies into fiat money.<\/b><\/p>\n
Transparency International Russia has discovered a black market of verified user accounts for sale which are registered with the providers of crypto-to-fiat transfers and enable anonymous transfers of money from Russia to the UK and EU. In order to get detailed information on how this market works, analysts of Transparency International Russia contacted the sellers of such accounts under the pretext of making a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n We looked in particular at the offer of accounts which were opened by these sellers at a service named Wirex, one of crypto-to-fiat payment providers which is a<\/span> UK-registered company and <\/span>a major player in this market.<\/span> Wirex enables transfers from crypto to fiat bank accounts with the option of access to a debit card. Hence, the purchase of a verified user account with this system<\/span> on the black market allows for the use of this service as a route for anonymous conversion of suspicious funds in cryptocurrencies into fiat money and evasion of customer due diligence procedures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to our findings, buying a verified account, although illegal, is a simple process which allows both the buyer and the seller of the account to remain anonymous. <\/span>The accounts sold <\/span>are registered in the names of citizens of EU countries and Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian refugees with residence permits in EU countries, and the price varies from USD 30 to USD 220.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Photos of identification documents and photo or video proofs from the money mules can be provided by the accounts sellers. Also, to mitigate the risks of accounts getting blocked by the crypto-to-fiat provider\u2019s AML service, the money mules are expected to stay in touch with the buyer via the vendor after the purchase of the account.<\/span><\/p>\n The sellers were willing to provide a bulk supply of accounts and were ready to make as many as 60 per week. <\/span>This ability to provide a wholesale supply gives an opportunity for <\/span>smurfing<\/span><\/i>, which is a practice of money laundering when large sums of money are split into small transactions for transferring in order to avoid attention of AML controllers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n