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The cryptocurrency service "RAKS Exchange," which provided services for laundering proceeds from online fraud and drug trafficking, has been shut down in Kazakhstan, Fergana.ru reports, citing the press service of the Financial Monitoring Agency.
The report described the crypto service as "the largest in the CIS." According to the agency, it collaborated with 20 major Darknet markets, with a combined audience exceeding 5 million users.
Over the past three years, more than 200 drug shops in the CIS countries—Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova—have laundered criminal proceeds through a crypto service.
The crypto exchange's total turnover amounted to over $224 million.
Its operations have now been completely shut down: social media accounts have been deleted, customer support has been suspended, and mass complaints from drug shops about non-fulfillment of financial obligations have been recorded on specialized Darknet forums, the Agency noted.
The agency is working to expose the service's organizers.
Earlier this month, Zhanat Elimanov, Chairman of the Financial Monitoring Agency, informed President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the liquidation of the CIS's largest crypto exchange. According to him, $9.7 million in virtual assets were frozen as a result.
Cryptocurrency transactions in Kazakhstan can currently only be legally conducted on crypto exchanges operating within the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC). Several crypto services are currently registered there, including the local branch of Binance and the Bybit exchange. Earlier this year, Tokayev, citing expert data, stated that only 5% of Kazakhstani crypto investors use the AIFC platform, with the rest operating in the so-called "gray zone."
