Two Arrested in Georgia in $389M Bitcoin Laundering Case

Two men were arrested in Batumi, Georgia, after a multinational law enforcement operation dismantled AudiA6, a bitcoin laundering service prosecutors say moved about 10,333 BTC, roughly $389 million at the time of the transactions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced charges on June 11.

The complaint names Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk, 37, identified as a Ukrainian national, and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, 25, identified as a Russian national, both living in Batumi. Each is charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and sting money laundering. Prosecutors describe the pair as senior operators who managed AudiA6.

Court filings state that blockchain analysis shows approximately 10,333 BTC were deposited to AudiA6 wallets since the service launched in 2021. The filings further note that about 393.39 BTC, valued at roughly $19.2 million at the time of the transactions, came directly from darknet markets, ransomware groups and other illicit sources, with additional deposits traced indirectly to unlawful origins.

Prosecutors say AudiA6 advertised its services on a cybercrime forum called Dark2Web. One advertisement reviewed by investigators allegedly offered to conceal the origin of crime-linked cryptocurrency for fees up to 5 percent.

The takedown was carried out by the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation along with Europol, Eurojust and partner agencies from Australia, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Switzerland and the U.K. Authorities targeted servers and domains in the United States, Iceland, Germany and France, replaced AudiA6 and Dark2Web pages with seizure banners, blocked Telegram accounts linked to the network, froze cryptocurrency assets and seized electronic devices. Three properties were searched in connection with the probe.

Tkachuk and Ledenev remain in Georgian custody while U.S. officials seek their extradition to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If extradited and convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The complaint is supported by blockchain tracing and financial records tied to wallets linked to the service.

Authorities described the action as part of a wider international effort to disrupt services that convert or obscure proceeds of cybercrime into usable cryptocurrency.