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US government seizes $1 million from major Russian ransomware gang in a rare
win for the good guys

Date:
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:03:00 +0000

Description:
Retrieving crypto from ransomware gangs is extremely difficult, but the US
government managed to get some of it back.

FULL STORY

As the US government continues to dismantle the infamous BlackSuit (Royal)
ransomware group , new information has claimed more than $1 million in
cryptocurrency was confiscated from the threat actors. 

Multiple US law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service and the
Department of Homeland Security are involved in the dismantling of BlackSuit,
a Russian ransomware group which has allegedly attacked more than 450 
US-based firms and stole more than $370 million in cryptocurrency since 2022. 

The US government has said its operation resulted in the seizures of servers,
domains and digital assets used to deploy ransomware, extort victims, and
launder proceeds - among which is $1,091,453 worth of coins, valued at the
time of the theft.

How much was really confiscated? 

Royal victims are typically required to pay ransoms in BTC by accessing a
darknet website. On or about April 4, 2023, a victim paid a ransom of
49.3120227 Bitcoin to decrypt their data, the announcement reads. 

This ransom was worth $1,445,454.86 at the time of the transaction. A portion
of those proceeds ($1,091,453) was repeatedly deposited and withdrawn into a
virtual currency exchange account until the funds were frozen by that 
exchange on or about Jan. 9, 2024. 

A million dollars worth of crypto would mean the crooks tried to launder 38.7
bitcoin at the time. When it was frozen, on January 9, 2024, it was already
worth $1.78 million, and at press time, the same amount of bitcoin equals 
$4.6 million. 

Given the decentralized and immutable nature of cryptocurrency, retrieving 
any amount is commendable. However, for BlackSuit, who stole hundreds of
millions, this is but a drop in the sea. 

Furthermore, since no arrests have been made, it is only a matter of time
before BlackSuit restores its infrastructure and continues wreaking havoc
throughout the corporate world. 

 Via TechCrunch

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/us-government-seizes-usd1-million-from-
major-russian-ransomware-gang-in-a-rare-win-for-the-good-guys

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