The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has officially shut down the cryptocurrency exchange E-Note and charged 39-year-old Russian national Mikhail Petrovich Chudnovets, identified in FBI documents as Mykhalio Petrovich Chudnovets, with laundering 70 million dollars obtained through cybercrime. The operation to dismantle the platform and seize its infrastructure was carried out on December 17, 2025, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Germany and Finland, marking the culmination of a multi-year investigation into E-Note’s international operations.
According to investigators, Chudnovets began providing money laundering services to cybercriminals as early as 2010. Initially, he relied on a network of private “money mules” to facilitate anonymous transfers. In 2017, however, he launched the full-scale online service E-Note. The platform allowed clients to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency and move funds across international borders with minimal checks. Prosecutors state that the service was widely used to cash out proceeds from ransomware attacks and other cyber operations targeting US medical institutions, companies, and critical infrastructure. E-Note’s promotional materials claimed that users could “receive cash anywhere in the world via SWIFT”, a line that now carries a distinctly ironic tone in light of the platform’s shutdown and investigation.
As part of the coordinated operation, authorities seized servers, mobile applications, and the domains e-note.com, e-note.ws, and jabb.mn, along with customer databases and years of transaction records. These materials are expected to support further investigations and help uncover additional laundering schemes. The indictment against Chudnovets was prepared in September 2025 but was made public only after the technical phase of the operation had been completed. If convicted, the Russian national faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The FBI. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt
Mikhail Chudnovets remains publicly active in the city of Tolyatti, is associated with the Rave boxing club, and presents himself as chairman of the city’s Boxing Federation. In 2021, he ran for a seat in the Samara Regional Duma representing the party “A Just Russia – Patriots For Truth”. His social media accounts continue to feature photos from Russia, suggesting that he may not have left the country after the investigation began and currently remains beyond the reach of US authorities.
The shutdown of E-Note is part of a broader strategy by US law enforcement to disrupt the financial infrastructure that underpins cybercrime. Unlike earlier approaches that focused primarily on apprehending individual hackers, the emphasis has now shifted toward services that enable the laundering and cashing out of illicit proceeds, including mixers, illicit exchanges, and cryptocurrency conversion platforms. The Chudnovets case clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of international cooperation in tracking and analyzing blockchain transactions. The seized databases may lead to new investigations and the exposure of additional laundering networks.
From the perspective of data-driven analysis and cybercrime trend monitoring, the E-Note case reflects a fundamental shift in enforcement strategy. Whereas efforts were once largely reactive and centered on individual perpetrators, the priority is now the proactive dismantling of the entire financial ecosystem that supports criminal activity. The level of coordination between the United States, Germany, and Finland, despite complex geopolitical conditions, underscores that cyber threats are viewed as a critical priority capable of overriding diplomatic frictions.
The delay between the preparation of the indictment in September and its public release in December is particularly telling and represents standard practice for operations requiring the synchronization of technical and legal actions across multiple jurisdictions. This case highlights the growing complexity of law enforcement in the digital age, where suspects may remain outside national jurisdictions, continuing public and business activities in their home countries while international authorities conduct investigations and plan strategic actions to dismantle illicit infrastructure.
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