Key Takeaways:
- Authorities sentenced a French national to eight years for running a crypto laundering operation.
- Investigators said the network moved more than $470 million through banks and shell companies.
- Forfeiture orders target millions in commissions and accounts as enforcement actions continue.
U.S. Sentence Highlights $470M Crypto Laundering Scheme
A U.S. court on April 28, 2026, sentenced French national Maximilien de Hoop Cartier to eight years in prison over a crypto-linked laundering network. The case focused on an unlicensed exchange that moved illicit funds through U.S. banks, shell companies, and crypto accounts. Authorities said Cartier helped launder more than $470 million tied to criminal proceeds.
Cartier pleaded guilty in October 2025 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Prosecutors said he ran an over-the-counter cryptocurrency exchange that turned digital assets into traditional currency for criminal clients. “Maximilien de Hoop Cartier exploited his knowledge of U.S. and international financial systems to launder drug money and other crime proceeds,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said, adding:
“De Hoop Cartier created a network of shell companies and crypto accounts to wash and conceal criminal proceeds. He used that network to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States to overseas criminal organizations, fueling their continued illicit operations.”
“Stopping money laundering stops crime more broadly. This federal prison sentence sends a clear message that those who launder criminal proceeds will face serious consequences,” Clayton noted.
Cartier, 58, is a resident of France and citizen of Argentina. Prosecutors said the network moved funds through the United States to Colombia and other countries.
Shell Companies Expose Banking Risks in Crypto Cashouts
The laundering system relied on corporate accounts that concealed the exchange’s real purpose. “Cartier’s OTC cryptocurrency exchange consisted of a large network of U.S.-based shell companies that Cartier operated and controlled for the sole purpose of converting cryptocurrency into hard currency,” the Department of Justice’s press release detailed. Authorities said Cartier opened more than a dozen U.S. bank accounts and described the entities as software businesses. He also used forged contracts, invoices, and other records to make funds appear legitimate. Prosecutors said drug money arrived in cryptocurrency, was converted into cash, and then moved through shell company accounts. The funds were later sent through other parts of the network before being withdrawn abroad in local currency.
The sentence also included forfeiture of $2,362,160.62, which prosecutors said represented Cartier’s commissions from converting cryptocurrency into hard currency. The court also ordered forfeiture of certain bank accounts tied to his shell companies. In a prior seizure, authorities took three accounts after about $937,000 in drug trafficking proceeds entered them from an undercover law enforcement account. Cartier later admitted he had described his business to banks as technology software services instead of a crypto exchange. The case shows how unlicensed crypto services can be used to move criminal proceeds through ordinary banking channels while masking their source.
