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$10 Million Bounty for Criminal Head who earned up to 1 Billion from Stolen Cards
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Timur Shahmamatov in connection with the now-defunct carder forum Joker's Stash. The accused (who used the nicknames "JokerStash" and "Vega") launched the forum in October 2014 and ceased operations in February 2021, two months after Interpol and the FBI seized part of the servers used to host the platform. According to estimates by Elliptic, Joker's Stash generated between $280 million and $1 billion for Shahmamatov through the sale of over 40 million payment card data. For many years, Joker's Stash and its founder played a significant role in the cybercriminal community and from 2017 to 2020, the site became a sort of epicenter for the sale of stolen card data, which attracted the attention of the FBI. However, despite the forum's shutdown, U.S. authorities are not willing to let Shahmamatov quietly end his activities. The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of $10 million for information on Shahmamatov's whereabouts and an additional $1 million for information about other forum administrators.
The charges against Shahmamatov were included in a larger indictment that also involves another individual, Sergey Ivanov. According to U.S. authorities, Ivanov is a key figure in the cybercriminal ecosystem, involved in money laundering. He is credited with managing services such as Cryptex, PM2BTC, UAPS and PinPays, which helped launder funds obtained from carding, fraud and ransomware attacks. Ivanov promoted these services on criminal forums, providing users with the ability to register anonymously, move cryptocurrency through his platforms and convert it into fiat currency. In total, approximately $1.15 billion was laundered through these services, with around 30% being criminal proceeds and $115 million directly linked to ransomware attacks. The indictment against Ivanov was filed the day after Dutch police seized server equipment related to Cryptex and PM2BTC. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Ivanov and the mentioned services.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Timur Shahmamatov in connection with the now-defunct carder forum Joker's Stash. The accused (who used the nicknames "JokerStash" and "Vega") launched the forum in October 2014 and ceased operations in February 2021, two months after Interpol and the FBI seized part of the servers used to host the platform. According to estimates by Elliptic, Joker's Stash generated between $280 million and $1 billion for Shahmamatov through the sale of over 40 million payment card data. For many years, Joker's Stash and its founder played a significant role in the cybercriminal community and from 2017 to 2020, the site became a sort of epicenter for the sale of stolen card data, which attracted the attention of the FBI. However, despite the forum's shutdown, U.S. authorities are not willing to let Shahmamatov quietly end his activities. The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of $10 million for information on Shahmamatov's whereabouts and an additional $1 million for information about other forum administrators.
The charges against Shahmamatov were included in a larger indictment that also involves another individual, Sergey Ivanov. According to U.S. authorities, Ivanov is a key figure in the cybercriminal ecosystem, involved in money laundering. He is credited with managing services such as Cryptex, PM2BTC, UAPS and PinPays, which helped launder funds obtained from carding, fraud and ransomware attacks. Ivanov promoted these services on criminal forums, providing users with the ability to register anonymously, move cryptocurrency through his platforms and convert it into fiat currency. In total, approximately $1.15 billion was laundered through these services, with around 30% being criminal proceeds and $115 million directly linked to ransomware attacks. The indictment against Ivanov was filed the day after Dutch police seized server equipment related to Cryptex and PM2BTC. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Ivanov and the mentioned services.