The analytical firm Chainalysis has begun publishing regular reports on companies suspected of illegal activities using cryptocurrencies. The first review is devoted to the Black Host hosting provider, the FutureNet Ponzi scheme, and the Farhad bitcoin exchange.

Three new Crypto Crime Intelligence reports shed light on the mechanisms and routes used for illegal transactions in the crypto space. The analysis is supplemented by graphs generated in the Chainalysis Reactor tool.

The company emphasized that they are not actively investigating any of the companies represented. Information may be of interest to law enforcement agencies, regulators, cybersecurity and compliance professionals.

The first on the list is the so-called “bulletproof” hosting provider Black Host, which also provides SIM cards, VPN servers, email addresses, and privacy protection services.

The service additionally creates a protection layer by supporting cryptocurrencies. Chainalysis specialists were able to find out that in May 2018, the North Korean government group of hackers Lazarus Group used the services of Black Host.

The second report is devoted to the activities of the Iranian bitcoin exchange Farhad. Despite the ban on cryptocurrency trading in the country, the platform that supports local rials, rubles, and US dollars via WebMoney, a social platform for traders and educational projects, continues to function.

Chaianalysis tracked the connection of 20 thousand BTC addresses of exchange clients with suspicious organizations, gambling sites, and p2p platforms. In 2014-2017, the platform was used to convert bitcoins into rials by an Iranian resident related to transactions carried out through the SamSam ransomware program.

The latest Chainalysis report highlights the FutureNet pyramid (Ponzi scheme) in Poland, which has created an infrastructure of one-day companies to make their operations legible.