Crypto exchange Binance has processed around $346 million in Bitcoin transactions for crypto exchange Bitzlato, which the US Department of Justice says facilitated illicit transactions for the perpetrators of ransomware attacks from Russia, Reuters has reported.
The FinCEN, the US Treasury's anti-fraud department, has previously said Binance was Bitzlato's primary cryptocurrency receiving counterparty between May 2018 and September 2022, along with darknet marketplace Hydra and financial pyramid Finiko.
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From May 2018 until Bitzlato closed last week, Binance reportedly transferred more than 20,000 BTC valued at $345.8 million at the time of the transaction. In total, the exchange processed around 205,000 transfers for the crypto exchange.
According to analysts, Binance received around $175 million in Bitcoins from Bitzlato.
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In addition, analytics firm Chainalysis has found that around $90 million of the total transfers were made after August 2021, when Binance announced the implementation of KYC procedures to combat financial crime.