U.S. seizes $2.8 million in crypto from Zeppelin ransomware operator

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced the seizure of more than $2.8 million in cryptocurrency from suspected ransomware operator Ianis Aleksandrovich Antropenko.

Antropenko, indicted in Texas for computer fraud and money laundering, was linked to Zeppelin ransomware, a now-defunct extortion operation that ran between 2019 and 2022.

Apart from the digital asset seizure, the authorities also confiscated $70,000 in cash and a luxury vehicle.

“Antropenko used Zeppelin ransomware to target and attack a wide range of individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide, including in the United States,” reads the U.S. DoJ announcement .

“Specifically, Antropenko and his coconspirators would encrypt and exfiltrate the victim’s data, and typically demand a ransom payment to decrypt t