>Over his 10 years at IRS Criminal Investigations, Gambaryan pioneered federal law enforcement’s use of cryptocurrency tracing as an investigative technique, with landmark results: From 2014 to 2017, Gambaryan identified two corrupt federal agents who had enriched themselves with cryptocurrency during their investigation of the Silk Road; helped to track down half a billion dollars worth of bitcoins stolen from early crypto exchange Mt. Gox; had a hand in developing a secret crypto tracing method that located the server hosting the massive AlphaBay dark-web crime market; and helped to take down the Welcome to Video crypto-funded child sexual abuse video network, a case that led to 337 arrests around the world and the rescue of 23 children from exploitative situations.
>In the wake of that string of cases, Gambaryan and another IRS Criminal Investigations agent, Jeremy Haynie, began in 2017 to trace the 69,370 bitcoins that appeared to have been stolen from the Silk Road in 2012 and 2013 and had sat almost entirely unmoved in the years since. With the help of blockchain analysis and data from seized servers of the criminal BTC-e crypto exchange—the fruits of another of Gambaryan’s investigations—the agents were able to identify Individual X as a hacker who had taken the Silk Road’s funds and demand that they forfeit them.
>As those funds flow into the federal government’s accounts, Frentzen hopes that federal officials who have the power to pressure Nigeria to free Gambaryan will remember where that record sum of money came from. “It should be a crystal-clear reminder of the impact that he’s had for the American government and for the American people. To have him locked up while the US Treasury is collecting $4.4 billion because of his work, it’s really twisted,” Frentzen says. “We urge the US government to continue to work to secure his release and to do so as fast as possible. And we encourage the Nigerians to do the right thing and release him.”
1 Comment
>Over his 10 years at IRS Criminal Investigations, Gambaryan pioneered federal law enforcement’s use of cryptocurrency tracing as an investigative technique, with landmark results: From 2014 to 2017, Gambaryan identified two corrupt federal agents who had enriched themselves with cryptocurrency during their investigation of the Silk Road; helped to track down half a billion dollars worth of bitcoins stolen from early crypto exchange Mt. Gox; had a hand in developing a secret crypto tracing method that located the server hosting the massive AlphaBay dark-web crime market; and helped to take down the Welcome to Video crypto-funded child sexual abuse video network, a case that led to 337 arrests around the world and the rescue of 23 children from exploitative situations.
>In the wake of that string of cases, Gambaryan and another IRS Criminal Investigations agent, Jeremy Haynie, began in 2017 to trace the 69,370 bitcoins that appeared to have been stolen from the Silk Road in 2012 and 2013 and had sat almost entirely unmoved in the years since. With the help of blockchain analysis and data from seized servers of the criminal BTC-e crypto exchange—the fruits of another of Gambaryan’s investigations—the agents were able to identify Individual X as a hacker who had taken the Silk Road’s funds and demand that they forfeit them.
>As those funds flow into the federal government’s accounts, Frentzen hopes that federal officials who have the power to pressure Nigeria to free Gambaryan will remember where that record sum of money came from. “It should be a crystal-clear reminder of the impact that he’s had for the American government and for the American people. To have him locked up while the US Treasury is collecting $4.4 billion because of his work, it’s really twisted,” Frentzen says. “We urge the US government to continue to work to secure his release and to do so as fast as possible. And we encourage the Nigerians to do the right thing and release him.”