Investigative Reporter Group ICIJ Exposes ‘Coin Laundry,’ Crypto’s Criminal Financial System

A bid of ICIJ reports unearth a litany of crypto-backed criminality including radical trafficking operations, cause cartels, Russian transgression gangs and crypto-to-cash storefronts astir the world.

Nov 17, 2025, 8:48 a.m.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a planetary web comprising hundreds of reporters which helped item large wealth laundering operations specified arsenic the Panama Papers, has turned its attraction to cryptocurrency, and recovered an astir inexhaustible trove of iniquity.

The ICIJs bid of investigative reports into crypto, dubbed the Coin Laundry, showed however illicit funds are funneled through large exchanges such arsenic Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit and Kucoin.

The crypto funds tracked by ICIJ were linked to transgression enterprises crossed the satellite including North Korean hackers, Chinese and Russian transgression gangs focused connected radical trafficking, cause dealing substances similar fentanyl, Mexico’s Sinaloa cause cartel, arsenic good arsenic and brazenly carried retired utilizing “crypto-cash storefront” operations successful places similar Ukraine and Dubai.

The ICIJ said its findings show “how the emergence of blockchain exertion — coupled with the speed, anonymity and planetary scope of cryptocurrency transactions — has softly spawned a shadiness fiscal strategy that operates faster, darker and further beyond the scope of regulators and instrumentality enforcement.”

In practise this means a cause cartel, lets say, tin easy usage a full caller fiscal strategy involving dollar-pegged stablecoins, for instance, to determination currency around, whereas successful the aged days the criminals would person to worldly currency successful to the footwear of car, according to 1 expert ICIJ spoke with.

“For decades, we’ve shown however hidden wealth moves done offshore havens. Now we’re revealing however the aforesaid forces are exploiting crypto markets to determination illicit currency successful plain sight,” said ICIJ Executive Director Gerard Ryle successful a statement.

“Our probe raises urgent questions: How complicit are large crypto exchanges successful enabling transgression activity? And wherefore are regulators struggling to support gait with a fiscal strategy that thrives connected opacity and speed?” helium asked.

The cryptocurrency trading satellite is scrutinized by respective ample alleged blockchain analytics companies that hint illicit funds and fishy wallet addresses, galore of whom are contracted to enactment with the compliance departments of the large exchanges. The ICIJ investigations look to person relied connected some smaller, autarkic blockchain sleuths to transportation retired its analysis.

More than 100 journalists from much than 35 countries partnered with ICIJ connected the project. Media partners see The New York Times, Le Monde, The Toronto Star, Malaysiakini, The Indian Express and the Australian Financial Review.

Coindesk reached retired to Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit and Kucoin for comment.

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