QQAAZZ Group Charged for Helping Banking Trojan Operators Launder Money

mood · Oct 17, 2020

QQAAZZ Group Charged for Helping Banking Trojan Operators Launder Money
Law enforcement agencies in 16 countries worked together to dismantle a criminal network
October 16, 2020
https://www.securityweek.com/qqaazz-group-charged-helping-banking-trojan-operators-launder-money

The crime ring consisted of individuals from Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Belgium. As part of the investigation, authorities conducted 40 house searches in Latvia, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy, and arrested 20 people.

Dubbed “QQAAZZ,” the network is believed to have laundered tens of millions of dollars since 2016, stolen from both corporate and personal bank accounts all around the world. The group had three hierarchical levels: leaders, mid-level managers, and money mules (or couriers).
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QQAAZZ, which advertised cash-out and money laundering services on exclusive Russian-speaking cybercriminal forums, served some of the most prominent gangs, including those behind Dridex, TrickBot, GozNym, and others, authorities said.

“Cybercriminals are constantly exploring new possibilities to abuse technology and financial frameworks to victimise millions of users in a moment from anywhere in the world. Today’s operation shows how through a proper law enforcement international coordination we can turn the table on these criminals and bring them to justice,” said Edvardas Šileris, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre.
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Europol: 20 arrests in QQAAZZ multi-million money laundering case

QQAAZZ advertised its services as a “global, complicit bank drops service” on Russian-speaking online cybercriminal forums where cybercriminals gather to offer or seek specialised skills or services needed to engage in a variety of cybercriminal activities.
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mood · Aug 8, 2021

Two members of money-laundering group for cybercriminals plead guilty in Pittsburgh
August 6, 2021
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/c...ead-guilty-in-Pittsburgh/stories/202108060128

Two Latvian members of the international money-laundering operation for cybercriminals called QQAAZZ have pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh, the U.S. attorney said Friday.

Arturs Zaherevics, who was extradited to Pittsburgh from London, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to launder money.
Aleksejs Trofimovics, extradited here from Latvia, had pleaded guilty on July 13.
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The two are among 20 Eastern Europeans under indictment in Pittsburgh on charges related to QQAAZZ, a European-based organization that provided cryptocurrency transactions for computer hackers on a global scale.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman said in a statement announcing the pleas that transnational organizations such as QQAAZZ "play a critical role in helping cybercriminals profit from their schemes."
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mood · Dec 22, 2021

US Sentences Money Launderer Linked to QQAAZZ
December 21, 2021

A United States court has sentenced a Russian national who admitted being involved in a conspiracy to launder money stolen from American victims of computer fraud.
Maksim Boiko, also known as Maxim Boyko [...] was one of 20 individuals indicted by the US in connection with the transnational criminal organization QQAAZZ.

With members scattered across Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Latvia, Russia, and elsewhere, QQAAZZ opened and maintained hundreds of corporate and personal bank accounts in multiple countries that were used to receive money stolen from victims’ bank accounts by cyber-criminals.
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Boiko, who is 31, was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in late March 2020 while visiting the United States.
On Monday, US District Judge Marilyn J. Horan sentenced Boiko to time served plus an additional two years of supervised release. Boiko's case was prosecuted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Boiko's sentence comes after Arturs Zaharevics and Aleksejs Trofimovics – two other individuals indicted over the QQAAZZ money laundering conspiracy – pleaded guilty in August to being involved in the scheme.
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QQAAZZ Group Charged for Helping Banking Trojan Operators Launder Money

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