Security News > 2020 > May > Cash-flashing rapper charged with money laundering for BTC-e
A 29-year-old Russian rapper who loved to do what rappers do - as in, post photos of himself on social media as he made kissy-kissy with wads of cash or swigged pricey champagne - will be appearing in court in Pennsylvania this week to face charges of money laundering for cybercrooks.
His name is Maksim Boiko, also known as Maxim Boyko, "Gangass", or the rapper Plinofficial.
If you're interested in a) Russian rap, b) how a young man originally from Siberia became enamored with African American music, black hip-hop style and the famous "Money phone" meme of using stacks of cash to pretend you're speaking on one of the "Brick" mobile phones of the 1980s, and/or d) the rise of the Trap genre of hip-hop and Boiko's part in its entrance to the Russian music scene, the BBC's got you covered.
In an affidavit filed in March and unsealed in April, FBI Special Agent Samantha Shelnick said that Boiko was in thick with BTC-e: a popular, fraudulent Russian cryptocurrency exchange that - up until the US seized the site in 2017 - was used by lots and lots of cybercrooks for money laundering.
The FBI alleges that Boiko helped launder money for BTC-e. The rapper allegedly used the alias Gangass to cover his dealings with cybercrooks.