The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has apprehended a group of Indian nationals accused of running an unlicensed business that converted cryptocurrency into cash for clients seeking anonymity. Five out of the six suspects were arrested and charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The individuals involved were Raju Patel, Brijeshkumar Patel, Hirenkumar Patel, Naineshkumar Patel, Nileshkumar Patel, and Shaileshkumar Goyani. Goyani’s lawyer claims that the allegations against his client are unproven and that he will plead not guilty if indicted. According to court documents, the suspects facilitated the delivery of cash on behalf of a co-conspirator who offered services on darknet marketplaces and peer-to-peer exchanges. The cash was shipped via the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The illegal operation was exposed after the arrest of an individual who had been mailing packages of cash on behalf of the co-conspirator. This individual later became an FBI confidential source. Through the cooperation of this source, the FBI discovered that the six suspects were delivering bundles of money on behalf of the unnamed co-conspirator. The FBI Special Agent involved in the case, Lawrence Lonergan, stated that the business violated state and federal laws by failing to register with FinCEN, which ensures proper filing of currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports. This allowed the unregistered money transmitting business to operate as a shadow bank, enabling funds to pass without scrutiny from the U.S. financial system.

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Information	Details
Geography	North America
Countries	🇮🇳 🇺🇸
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	Brijeshkumar Patel, Naineshkumar Patel, Raju Patel, Nileshkumar Patel, Hirenkumar Patel
Companies	Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Postal Service, Congress, Westfair Business Journal
Currencies	Bitcoin
Securities	None