The FBI and international partners in Germany and Finland took down the online infrastructure of a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly laundered funds for transnational cybercriminal groups, the Justice Department said Wednesday. 

According to a DOJ announcement, the exchange E-Note was used to process funds stolen by criminals in cyberattacks on healthcare entities and critical infrastructure, among other targets. Its payment service and money mule network processed more than $70 million connected to ransomware attacks since 2017, they alleged. 

The DOJ also unsealed an indictment in the Eastern District of Michigan against Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, a 39-year-old Russian national who allegedly operated E-Note and faces a money laundering charge that carries up to 20 years in prison. Chudnovets has laundered money for cybercriminals since 2010, court documents allege.  

Law enforcement seized servers, mobile applications, and three websites — “e-note.com,” “e-note.ws,” and “jabb.mn” — linked to the operation. Police also seized Chudnovets’ customer databases and transaction records, the DOJ said. 

The Michigan State Police, German Federal Criminal Police Office and the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation also participated in the investigation.