Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested for Money Laundering Scheme
Samourai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill have been apprehended by U.S. authorities for their involvement in a money laundering operation that exceeded $100 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement on April 24 detailing the charges brought against Rodriguez and Hill. They are accused of conspiring to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission service through their cryptocurrency mixing platform, Samourai.
Rodriguez was arrested within the United States, while Hill was captured in Portugal and is set to be extradited for trial. If found guilty, Rodriguez could face a maximum sentence of 20 years, while Hill could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
As part of the investigation, Samourai’s website, hosted in Iceland, was seized, and the app was removed from the Google Play Store.
Allegations and Evidence
Authorities claim that Rodriguez and Hill facilitated more than $2 billion in illegal transactions through Samourai’s platform, collecting over $4.5 million in fees since 2015. The DOJ asserts that the duo marketed the service as a tool for evading censorship and participating in illicit activities, providing a safe haven for criminals.
Private messages and social media posts attributed to Hill were used as evidence to demonstrate that Samourai was aware of its misuse by criminals and, in some cases, encouraged such behavior.
Crackdown on Crypto Mixers
The arrests of Rodriguez and Hill are part of a larger effort by law enforcement to target cryptocurrency mixers used by criminal organizations, including North Korea’s Lazarus group, to evade detection and law enforcement scrutiny.
Recent successful prosecutions include the case against Bitcoin Fog founder Roman Sterlingov, who was found guilty of facilitating over $400 million in illegal drug sales. The DOJ is also pursuing cases against developers of other crypto mixing services, such as Tornado Cash.
Other platforms, including Blender and Sinbad, have also faced sanctions as regulators ramp up efforts to combat money laundering and illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space.