The Federal police in Germany (BKA) seized the server infrastructure and shut down the ‘eXch’ cryptocurrency exchange platform for alleged money laundering cybercrime proceeds.
During the law enforcement operation, the authorities also seized eight terabytes of data and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash) worth approximately $38,000,000, making this the third largest seizure of digital assets in BKA’s history.
The BKA says the platform did not comply with ‘know-your-customer’ regulations, allowing money laundering by cybercrime and other illegal rings to bloom.
“Since its inception, an estimated 1.9 billion US dollars worth of cryptocurrencies have been transferred through the service,” reads the announcement.
“There is a suspicion that eXch especially accepted Bitcoin of criminal origin. Among other things, part of the stolen 1.5 billion US dollars from the crypto exchange Bybit, which was hacked on February 21, 2025, is believed to have been laundered through eXch.”
The record-breaking Bybit crypto-heist was conducted by the notorious North Korean hacking group ‘Lazarus,’ according to multiple blockchain experts.
Source: BKA
eXch was immediately implicated in Lazarus’ money laundering efforts, which it vehemently denied at the time, dismissing some suspicious fund flows through them as isolated cases.
Eventually, the service’s operators succumbed to the pressure and increased scrutiny, announcing they would shut down all operations on May 1, 2025.
Still, BKA’s seizure of eXch infrastructure, even if no longer active, could help trace stolen amounts and identify cybercriminals who used the service.
The operators of the platform aren’t off the hook, as the German police announced they are under suspicion of commercial money laundering and operating a criminal online trading platform.
The BKA says that, despite the limited time they had since eXch announced the shutdown of its service, they managed to secure numerous pieces of evidence that led to today’s law enforcement operation.
