Researchers at Beosin reported that the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a criminal group led by Ryan James Wedding. According to the investigation, the organization was involved in large-scale smuggling of prohibited drugs through Colombia and Mexico, with subsequent sales in the US and Canada, laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency operations.
Who is Behind the Criminal Group
The operation's leader is identified as Ryan James Wedding; around him operated a multi-tiered network for collecting and moving funds. The group's financial structure was controlled by two key intermediaries: Canadian jeweler Sokolowski and former Italian special forces operative Tiepolo, who jointly managed physical assets and digital flows.
Through the jewelry business and cryptocurrency transactions, Sokolowski laundered millions of dollars, with funds then passing through chains of transfers to obscure their origins and subsequently integrate them into the financial system.
Scale of Cryptocurrency Laundering
The investigation indicates that the volume of illicit funds amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars; stablecoins were the primary laundering tool. Known wallets linked to Wedding received over $263 million in USDT, and Beosin Trace analysis showed that three addresses processed 266.76 million USDT.
The investigation also lists large transfers across multiple blockchains and exchanges, highlighting the scheme's multi-layered and extensive nature.
Money Laundering Mechanisms
The investigation describes multi-level transfers and a high frequency of transactions used to conceal the source of funds. A significant portion of assets was directed to centralized exchanges including Binance, OKX, Kraken, and BTSE, where they were further distributed to deposit addresses and mixers.
Analysis of addresses linked to Sokolowski showed funds moving across various blockchains: two BTC addresses were deposit wallets for KuCoin and Binance, collectively receiving 331.14 BTC. On the Ethereum network, 580 ETH, 38.97 million USDT, and 4.27 million USDC were noted; on the TRON network, two addresses received 132.29 million USDT. For additional context, see the article on suspicious transactions on exchanges.
Beosin Investigation and Authorities' Response
Beosin Trace identified key addresses and analyzed the flows: according to their data, three wallets linked to the leader processed 266.76 million USDT. Some assets were successfully frozen by Tether, while a significant portion of coins was withdrawn through addresses with high transaction frequency and further distributed across platforms and mixers.
The US Treasury applied sanctions to participants in the scheme, representing part of the authorities' response to detected financial flows and operations laundering criminal proceeds.
Conclusions and Implications
The Wedding case illustrates how stablecoins and centralized platforms can be used for large-scale money laundering, combining offline businesses with digital transfers. The investigation shows involvement of multiple blockchains, exchange services, and trading platforms in a unified chain of fund movements.
This case underscores that anti-money laundering efforts operate on multiple levels simultaneously: blockchain trace analytics, asset freezing, and sanctions imposed by authorities and companies.
Why This Matters
For miners in Russia, there is no direct indication of mining prosecution in the investigation; however, the case demonstrates how quickly addresses and flows can attract attention from analysts and law enforcement. The freezing of some assets by Tether shows that stablecoin providers and platforms sometimes block funds following compliance checks.
Understanding the scheme is useful because the presence of multi-level transfers and use of centralized exchanges increases the risk of delays or blocks when moving large sums; this is relevant to anyone working with exchanges and stablecoins.
What to Do?
- Use reputable and regulated exchanges for withdrawals and swaps, comply with KYC requirements, and keep documents proving the origin of funds.
- Separate personal and operational wallets, keep records of incoming and outgoing transactions to maintain transparent history in case of audits.
- Avoid mixing with suspicious flows and services of dubious reputation; if needed, study public investigations and analyses of similar schemes, such as the E-Note scheme example.
- Monitor official announcements from platforms and stablecoin issuers — the investigation noted the role of asset freezes by providers.