August 12, 2025 By Bill Toulas
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) seized cryptocurrency and digital assets worth $1,091,453 at the time of confiscation, on January 9, 2024, from the BlackSuit ransomware gang.
The authorities tracked the crypto as the cybercriminals moved it repeatedly across virtual currency exchange accounts, depositing and withdrawing it to obfuscate the trace. Eventually, the amount was frozen when it reached a cooperating exchange.
The action was made possible thanks to evidence collected by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia on or about June 21, 2024.
The confiscated amount was part of a ransom payment made on April 4, 2023, in exchange for a decryptor. The unnamed victim paid the ransomware actors 49.3 Bitcoin, valued at about $1,445,000 at the time.
This asset seizure announcement comes shortly after the law enforcement authorities in the U.S. seized BlackSuit's extortion portals on the dark web, in an international action codenamed 'Operation Checkmate.'
