Samourai 錢包主謀因洗錢和未經許可的交易面臨 25 年監禁

混幣服務業者匿名的日子已經屈指可數了，最近該行業關鍵人物被捕和定罪就證明了這一點。美國司法部指控 Samourai Wallet 聯合創始人洗錢和經營未經許可的匯款業務，而 Bitcoin Fog 混合器的運營商也被判犯有類似罪行。在荷蘭，對 Tornado Cash 開發商 Alexey Pertsev 的審判正在進行中，檢察官尋求因他協助洗錢價值超過 10 億美元的以太坊而尋求 64 個月的徒刑。對混合器的打擊是一項全球性的努力，美國、歐洲和其他地方的當局對那些使犯罪分子能夠混淆其非法交易軌蹟的服務採取了行動。

Samourai Wallet Masterminds Face Prison Terms for Unlicensed Money Transmission and Money Laundering

Samourai 錢包主謀因未經許可的資金轉移和洗錢而面臨監禁

The curtain has fallen on the purportedly anonymous operators behind Samourai Wallet, an unscrupulous coin mixing service designed to obscure the digital footprints of illicit transactions. Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the co-founders of this shadowy enterprise, now stand accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, facing a combined prison sentence of up to 25 years.

Samourai Wallet 背後的據稱匿名運營商已經落幕，Samourai Wallet 是一種不擇手段的混幣服務，旨在掩蓋非法交易的數位足跡。這家影子企業的聯合創始人科尼·羅德里格斯(Keonne Rodriguez) 和威廉·洛納根·希爾(William Lonergan Hill) 現被指控共謀洗錢和共謀經營無照匯款業務，面臨最高25 年監禁。

The indictment against Samourai lays bare its brazen disregard for anti-money laundering protocols and the "know your customer" standard. This gross negligence enabled the facilitation of "over $2 billion in unlawful transactions," a staggering sum that highlights the chilling impact of such illicit activities.

對 Samourai 的起訴揭露了其公然無視反洗錢協議和「了解您的客戶」標準的行為。這一重大過失促成了“超過 20 億美元的非法交易”，這一數額驚人，凸顯了此類非法活動的令人震驚的影響。

Samourai's services were particularly sought after by those seeking to launder ill-gotten gains from dark web marketplaces like Silk Road and Hydra Market. The disturbing revelation that Samourai processed "more than $100 million in money laundering transactions" from these shadowy corners of the internet exposes its complicity in the dark underbelly of cyberspace.

Samourai 的服務尤其受到那些尋求從 Silk Road 和 Hydra Market 等暗網市場洗錢的人的追捧。 Samourai 從網路的這些陰暗角落處理了“超過 1 億美元的洗錢交易”，這一令人不安的消息暴露了其在網路空間黑暗下層的同謀。

But Samourai's transgressions did not end there. It also enabled the laundering of proceeds from web-server intrusions, spear-phishing scams, and schemes designed to defraud decentralized finance protocols. The sheer scale of Samourai's illicit activities is mind-boggling, with its operators reportedly raking in around $4.4 million in fees from users eager to hide their digital trails from law enforcement.

但武士的罪行並沒有就此結束。它還可以對網路伺服器入侵、魚叉式網路釣魚詐騙和旨在欺騙去中心化金融協議的計劃的收益進行洗錢。 Samourai 非法活動的規模之大令人難以置信，據報道，其運營商從渴望向執法部門隱藏其數位踪蹟的用戶那裡收取了約 440 萬美元的費用。

Rodriguez's arrest within the United States and Hill's detention in Portugal, pending extradition, serve as a stark warning that attempting to evade justice by seeking refuge overseas is a futile endeavor. The long arm of the law will reach even those who believe themselves immune from prosecution.

羅德里格斯在美國被捕以及希爾在葡萄牙被拘留等待引渡，這都是一個嚴厲的警告：試圖透過尋求海外庇護來逃避司法是徒勞無功的。法律的長臂甚至會觸及那些自認免於起訴的人。

Law enforcement agencies have seized Samourai's servers with the invaluable assistance of Icelandic authorities. Its dot-com domains have also been taken down, while Google Play has ceased downloads of the Samourai app for American users.

在冰島當局的寶貴協助下，執法機構查獲了 Samourai 的服務器。其 .com 網域也已被撤下，而 Google Play 已停止為美國用戶下載 Samourai 應用程式。

Unlike many other coin mixers that operate on the Ethereum blockchain, Samourai catered specifically to those seeking to conceal the digital breadcrumbs left behind by their Bitcoin transactions. Its "Whirlpool" service, marketed as a means to keep "your identity masked," was recently upgraded to further enhance its anonymization capabilities.

與許多其他在以太坊區塊鏈上運行的硬幣混合器不同，Samourai 專門迎合那些尋求隱藏比特幣交易留下的數位麵包屑的人。其「Whirlpool」服務被宣傳為「隱藏您的身分」的一種手段，最近進行了升級，以進一步增強其匿名功能。

Samourai also offered a "Ricochet" feature designed to confound transaction blacklists and protect users from "unjust 3rd party account closures." Such audacious language was typical of the Samourai crew's brash and provocative demeanor.

Samourai 還提供了「Ricochet」功能，旨在混淆交易黑名單並保護用戶免受「不公正的第三方帳戶關閉」。這種大膽的語言是武士船員典型的傲慢和挑釁行為。

In March 2022, Hill cavalierly dismissed a Financial Times article citing a Europol assessment that coin mixers posed a "top threat," mockingly tweeting, "Do you see us shitting in our pants?" The answer, as we now know, is an emphatic yes.

2022 年3 月，希爾傲慢地駁斥了《金融時報》的一篇文章，引用了歐洲刑警組織的評估，認為混幣器構成了“頭號威脅”，並在推特上嘲笑道：“你看到我們在褲子裡拉屎了嗎？正如我們現在所知，答案是肯定的。

Hill's hubris extended to welcoming Russian oligarchs as Samourai Wallet users following the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. His confrontational stance, resembling the defiant bravado of Avraham Eisenberg, proved ill-advised, as both men now face the harsh reality of prison time for their reckless actions.

在俄羅斯因入侵烏克蘭而受到經濟制裁後，希爾的傲慢態度延伸到歡迎俄羅斯寡頭成為 Samourai Wallet 用戶。他的對抗立場類似於亞伯拉罕·艾森伯格的挑釁虛張聲勢，但事實證明是不明智的，因為兩人現在都因魯莽的行為而面臨入獄的嚴酷現實。

Rodriguez and Hill's legal challenges have been further compounded by the recent conviction of Roman Sterlingov, the Swedish-Russian operator of the Bitcoin Fog mixer. Sterlingov's guilty verdict on charges of money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and violating the District of Columbia Money Transmitters Act sent shockwaves through the crypto community.

比特幣霧混合器的瑞典-俄羅斯營運商羅曼·斯特林戈夫 (Roman Sterlingov) 最近被定罪，進一步加劇了羅德里格斯和希爾的法律挑戰。斯特林戈夫對共謀洗錢、經營未經許可的貨幣傳輸業務以及違反《哥倫比亞特區貨幣傳輸法》等指控的有罪判決在加密貨幣界引起了軒然大波。

Sterlingov operated Bitcoin Fog from 2011 until his arrest in April 2021, overseeing the longest-running mixer in crypto history. During its operation, Bitcoin Fog processed "well over" 1.2 million BTC, worth nearly $400 million at the time.

斯特林戈夫從 2011 年開始營運 Bitcoin Fog，直到 2021 年 4 月被捕，監督著加密史上運行時間最長的混合器。在運行期間，Bitcoin Fog 處理了「遠遠超過」120 萬比特幣，當時價值近 4 億美元。

According to the DoJ's press release following Sterlingov's conviction, the majority of these Bitcoins originated from darknet marketplaces and were tied to "illegal narcotics, computer fraud and abuse activities, and identity theft." His service also catered to purveyors of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through the notorious site Welcome to Video.

根據司法部在斯特林戈夫定罪後發布的新聞稿，這些比特幣大部分來自暗網市場，並與「非法麻醉品、電腦詐欺和濫用活動以及身分盜竊」有關。他的服務還透過臭名昭著的網站「歡迎觀看影片」來迎合兒童性虐待材料（CSAM）的提供者。

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco delivered a stern warning to those operating cryptocurrency services that reach the United States: "No matter where you operate, if your service reaches the United States, you must abide by U.S. law."

美國副總檢察長麗莎·莫納科向那些運營到達美國的加密貨幣服務的人發出嚴厲警告：“無論你在哪裡運營，如果你的服務到達美國，就必須遵守​​美國法律。”

Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year to the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange, testified at Sterlingov's trial that Bitcoin Fog was one of the mixers he and his partner Heather 'Razzlekhan' Morgan used to launder their ill-gotten gains. However, Lichtenstein claimed that he later switched to other mixers that better suited his needs.

伊利亞·利希滕斯坦(Ilya Lichtenstein) 去年對2016 年Bitfinex 交易所黑客攻擊事件認罪，他在斯特林戈夫(Sterlingov) 的審判中作證稱，比特幣霧(Bitcoin Fog) 是他和合夥人希瑟「拉茲勒漢」摩根(Heather 'Razzlekhan' Morgan) 用來清洗不義之財的混幣器之一。然而，利希滕斯坦聲稱他後來改用了其他更適合他需求的混音器。

The global crackdown on coin mixing services continues unabated, with the ongoing prosecution of the individuals behind the Ethereum-based Tornado Cash mixer. Developer Alexey Pertsev, who was arrested in the Netherlands in August 2022, faces charges of laundering $1.2 billion in ETH between July 2019 and the time of his arrest.

全球對混幣服務的打擊力道有增無減，基於以太坊的 Tornado Cash 混幣器背後的個人正在被起訴。開發商 Alexey Pertsev 於 2022 年 8 月在荷蘭被捕，他面臨在 2019 年 7 月至被捕期間洗錢 12 億美元 ETH 的指控。

Pertsev, a Russian national allegedly linked to Russian intelligence services, pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial in the Netherlands was conducted over two days, with prosecutors seeking a 64-month sentence. The verdict is expected on May 14.

據稱與俄羅斯情報部門有聯繫的俄羅斯國民佩爾采夫對這些指控表示不認罪。他在荷蘭的審判持續了兩天，檢察官尋求 64 個月的刑期。預計 5 月 14 日作出判決。

While Pertsev expressed disappointment that criminals and rogue regimes like North Korea had embraced Tornado Cash, he claimed that he was merely responsible for writing the code and had no control over who used it. To attribute blame to him for the malicious activities enabled by his software, he argued, would be "unfair."

儘管佩爾采夫對朝鮮等犯罪分子和流氓政權接受龍捲風現金表示失望，但他聲稱自己只負責編寫程式碼，無法控制誰使用它。他認為，將其軟體引發的惡意活動歸咎於他是「不公平的」。

Just prior to the filing of Storm's motion to dismiss the charges, blockchain analysts Elliptic reported that North Korea's infamous Lazarus Group hackers had employed Tornado Cash to launder over $100 million worth of tokens stolen from the HTX (formerly Huobi) exchange and its HECO cross-chain bridge. The timing of this illicit operation, beginning on March 13, raises significant concerns about the role of Tornado Cash in facilitating state-sponsored cybercrime.

就在Storm 提出駁回指控的動議之前，區塊鏈分析師Elliptic 報告稱，北韓臭名昭著的Lazarus Group 駭客利用Tornado Cash 洗白了從HTX（前身為火幣）交易所及其HECO 交叉平台竊取的價值超過1 億美元的代幣。這項非法行動從 3 月 13 日開始，引發了人們對 Tornado Cash 在促進國家支持的網路犯罪方面所扮演的角色的嚴重擔憂。

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has further solidified the government's stance against coin mixers by formally designating them as "a class of transactions of primary money laundering concern." This declaration followed a plea from a bipartisan group of over 100 U.S. federal legislators to develop plans to prevent the use of crypto for terrorist financing after attacks on Israel by the Hamas terror group.

美國財政部金融犯罪執法網絡 (FinCEN) 正式將混幣器指定為“主要洗錢問題的一類交易”，進一步鞏固了政府針對混幣器的立場。在此聲明之前，由 100 多名美國聯邦立法者組成的兩黨團體呼籲制定計劃，在哈馬斯恐怖組織襲擊以色列後防止使用加密貨幣進行恐怖分子融資。

Despite the Treasury Department's decisive action, a group of Ethereum users attempted to challenge the federal government's sanctions against Tornado Cash. Their appeal, however, was dismissed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit.

儘管財政部採取了果斷行動，一群以太坊使用者仍試圖挑戰聯邦政府對 Tornado Cash 的製裁。然而，他們的上訴被美國第五巡迴法院駁回。

The United States is not alone in its efforts to combat coin mixing services. European authorities played a significant role in last year's takedowns of ChipMixer and Sinbad, while the U.K.'s National Crime Agency has issued a stark warning to mixers to comply with money laundering laws or face the consequences.

美國並不是唯一一個努力打擊混幣服務的國家。歐洲當局在去年打擊 ChipMixer 和 Sinbad 的行動中發揮了重要作用，而英國國家犯罪局則向混幣者發出嚴厲警告，要求其遵守反洗錢法，否則將面臨後果。

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has alerted Americans not to use "cryptocurrency money transmitting services that are not registered as Money Services Businesses (MSB) according to United States federal law and do not adhere to anti-money laundering requirements." The FBI's pointed reference to recent actions against unauthorized 'crypto' services underscores the government's unwavering commitment to protecting the financial system from illicit activities.

聯邦調查局（FBI）警告美國人不要使用“未根據美國聯邦法律註冊為貨幣服務企業（MSB）且不遵守反洗錢要求的加密貨幣貨幣傳輸服務。”聯邦調查局明確提及最近針對未經授權的「加密」服務採取的行動，突顯了政府堅定不移地致力於保護金融體系免受非法活動的影響。

Law enforcement agencies worldwide will continue to target such businesses until they learn to abide by the law. The choice is clear: compliance with the law or a prison cell.

世界各地的執法機構將繼續針對此類企業，直到他們學會遵守法律。選擇很明確：遵守法律或牢房。